Kale Talk
Let's talk about kale
Its official. At least according to my brief perusal of headlines on google news that I just did... kale... is mostly done. I mean, sure, people still eat kale, but it has fallen from the top 10 superfoods (according to this article which I didn't read) the critics agree: cauliflower is the new kale (sidenote, the x is the new y format is a curse.) Kale has been overtaken in our hearts and also guts by cauliflower, which is now, as I'm sure you are all aware, considered an adequate substitute for rice, or pizza crust. And don't get me wrong, I love cauliflower as long as it isn't hiding itself. If its got florets I'm good with it. But the important thing is that cauliflower is now a superfood, and kale, we can all now admit, is Bad. The only reason you ate kale for the last decade, internet naysayers are telling me, is capitalism! We were all conned into eating kale because we thought it would make us live forever!
But now I am here to take part in the most important part of the Online Discourse: the backlash to the backlash. So, I'll say it. Kale is pretty good. I mean, what else are you supposed to eat? Spinach? Not in my house. If you're cooking spinach you have to buy literal actual pounds of it to get enough for two people, and leftovers? With spinach? In what universe??? I could eat collards but I live in new york city, and am near two very bougie grocery stores that do not often sell collards, and of course, most importantly, I absolutely loathe them. Collards smell like feet. They smell like hot feet, and that's bad, and I once tried to use my CSA collards to make a WRAP and that was absolutely miserable. If you like collards, my god do I have endless respect for you, but... would not and could not be me.
Now, you could eat chard. It's a nice compromise between the very wetness of spinach and the hardness of kale. Unfortunately, like spinach, it makes your teeth (or is it just my teeth?) feel like I've taken a big ol chomp of dirt. Anyway, back to kale. It's good! I like it a lot!
I like two kale salads (one with breadcrumbs and walnuts, because obviously) and one with sauteed apples, but I'm not sharing a recipe for either of those today. Today, I'm sharing my all time top tier kale recipe: slow cooked kale with rosemary.
The public school by our house has some very cute ways of winterproofing their garden!
What I've been reading!
Because I'm keeping it brief this week (I've been getting carried away the last few weeks) here are a few links to stuff I have read and really liked lately:
An article about the history of tea being gendered in the US. Please read it, it links to a company that's trying to make Tea for Men and it is exactly that funny.
A saga that really gets into a lot of New York City's corruption issues, and small buisinesses. That's right, it's about awnings. Parts one and two are both so good and really worth reading. I noticed yesterday that the awning on the bodega downstairs from me had come down, and I went in and asked about it and the guy working there said that they'd been warned that they could get fined $5,000 for their awning. It really is sweeping the city.
This incredible article about Barbara Wheaton, who has my dream job, creating a database of all cookbooks ever published (although right now it’s from Western Europe and the US and stops in the 1900s somewhere.)
One last non-reading thing, I am still unable to donate blood (whatever) but I am elidgible to be a bone marrow donor, you can join the registry here (and they're particularly seeking donors who aren't white).
Slow cooked rosemary kale
3 or 4 garlic cloves
red pepper flakes, to taste (I used a literal pinch)
a small to medium red onion
two smaller or one really large bunch of kale
a sprig of rosemary
olive oil
wine (white wine or red wine or a mixture of sherry and stock would do)
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar (or a bit less, I'm a fan of vinegar)
YES I know you will probably want more red chili flakes than me, these 12 red pepper flakes spark JOY, alright?!
I prefer to use a dutch oven for this, but we were cooking something else in the dutch oven. Whatever you use, it needs to have a lid, and a heavy bottom.
Slice red onion, chop garlic and a few red pepper flakes. Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium low. Once the oil is hot, scrape in your onions and garlic, cooking together until they’ve softened (about ten minutes) add some salt, and a sprig or two of rosemary. Raise the heat and cook until the rosemary is fragrant (a minute or so).
Add the kale and turn the heat very very low. You can add the kale in bits if you need to for space reasons. Once your kale is in add some wine. Red wine is good, I used white wine because it was what I had on hand. You could also use cooking sherry or vegetable stock. Basically, something that is more flavorful than just water is best. I pour in a fair amount, perhaps as much as a third a cup, but I’ve never measured. You want a good amount of liquid to help the kale steam and keep from scorching on the bottom. Put the lid on.
Cook, covered, until it is very soft, as short as 15 minutes, but as long as 30, or more if you feel like it. If it still has liquid you can raise the heat to cook it off, I often have to add a few more splashes on whatever cooking liquid.
Slow cooked rosemary kale: it is SOFT it is PURPLE it is GOOD ON GRITS!
Today is the super bowl which I am not particularly invested in, but I do love the concept of super bowl snacks. Alas, I've never been to a super bowl party, because, hello liberal elite, so i'm sort of making it up as I go. We're making: vegan lasagna and fried cauliflower with a sticky soy glaze, and something called a "football sandwich" which is basically a dinner roll with ham and cheese that you stick in the oven with a butter poppyseed sauce (idk but it sounds fun). Do you want recipes for any of these? Email me! Let me know! I'm cooking during daytime so maybe my pictures won't be so gnarly!