Kale: Not just for garnish at the salad bar

From time to time, we receive a gracious invitation to dine with our friends, the Andersons. And these invitations are highly prized, not just because of the delightful company, but also because Ms. Anderson is a phenomenal cook. She's adventurous, refined, creative, and has amazing culinary intuition. One night, early last fall, Mr. Anderson cut fresh greens from their garden for us to eat. And I found that not only do I like kale, but that the husbeast likes kale too. Shocking!

I started buying this leafy vegetable regularly at the grocery store, and have found many recipes that use it, such as white bean & kale soup, potato and kale enchiladas, and the delicious garlicky mushrooms and kale (pictured) from Appetite for Reduction. Now, whenever I eat kale, I think of my friend with appreciation!

This super simple recipe was delicious last night - 6 cloves of garlic sauteed in a teaspoon of oil. Add chopped mushrooms (I had half of a container of button mushrooms in the fridge, usually I add more), saute 5 minutes. Add 2 bunches of washed, trimmed kale and a few tablespoons of water. Mix it all up and cook 10 minutes, until the kale turns brilliant green and reduces in bulk. After I had everything in the pan, I put in two tilapia fillets (topped with a teaspoon of 'butter', salt, and pepper) in the oven for 6 minutes at 500 degrees. Supper was on the table in 30 minutes, if you count the trip to the grocery store!

I hope you try some kale soon - it's available all year inexpensively in the store or can be grown in your own garden. It's also sort of a superfood - it's been found to reduce risks of 5 major cancers (bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate), is chock-full of anti-oxidents, and contains very high amounts of vitamins A, K, and C. Get some!