Here's a link to the article I mentioned in my earlier post:
http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/07/19/study-gluten-free-food-often-contaminated/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl5%7Clink4%7Chttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2F2010%2F07%2F19%2Fstudy-gluten-free-food-often-contaminated%2F&sms_ss=facebook
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Kale chips
I haven't written in a while- hard to believe it's coming up on 2 months since my last post! Some life events happened to keep me not spending quite so much time online and I haven't been cooking very much, so I haven't had any fodder for the foodie blog. Well, I read something this morning which reminded me that I need to get back on the blog-writing, so here I am! I'll post a link to the article that brought me back here later, probably tomorrow.
For now, I just wanted to share the one food experiment that sticks out in my mind from the darn-near 2 months that I've been away. I made Kale Chips. They were really tasty, and will be repeated when kale is in season each year.
What they are: Seasoned, lightly oiled kale pieces which are dehydrated until crispy. A very tasty snack, chock full of nutrition, and the hubby is willing to eat them like potato chips- SCORE! They're not full of crunch like potato chips, because they're dried leaves. Think about the crunch of dried leaves on the ground as you step on them. That's the level of crunch you get in a kale chip.
The recipe I used is from here:
http://www.raw-food-living.com/cracker-recipes.html
I used that recipe because I wanted the first batch to be simple, with no flavors hiding or competing with the kale-ness. Having tried that, I now have a pretty good idea of what flavors I'd enjoy. I intend to get creative with it in the near future. The chips are perfectly tasty with just the olive oil and salt, but would definitely not suffer if some extra flavor was thrown in! If you want to jump right into the flavored kale chips, just Google "kale chip recipe" or something like that; you'll find oodles of possibilities.
If you should decide to make them for yourself, I do have a couple of tips:
Check the backs of the leaves before you tear them up for use, or if possible, before you purchase them. If you see any fuzzy little white spots, dispose of that portion of the leaf. There is a certain variety of bug that really likes kale and those fuzzy little white spots are cocoons for this bug. Definitely something to avoid having in your kale chips!
The recipe uses only a small amount of oil for good reason. If you have trouble getting it distributed through all of the kale pieces and decide to use more, be sure to increase the seasoning, too. It would also be a good idea to drain the excess oil off and then blot the excess off of the pieces with a paper towel. (Okay, I'll admit it. My version of 'blotting' is to put the paper towel in my hand and grab a small handful of kale pieces with it, then rub gently. Kale has pretty sturdy leaves, so it doesn't damage them to do this.)
For the best possible texture, placement on the dehydrator tray or drying rack is actually very important. They must be single layer with a little space between each. They can be close together, but they don't shrink as much as you might expect, so air flow is critical.
You can tear them into pieces by hand or cut them into strips with scissors or a knife. This is a matter of personal preference and solely for aesthetics. The method I prefer is to use a paring knife to remove the tough central vein of each leaf, then tear the halves into about 3-4 pieces each, depending on the size of the leaf. This was what I found to be the happy medium between aesthetics and efficiency.
Enjoy!
For now, I just wanted to share the one food experiment that sticks out in my mind from the darn-near 2 months that I've been away. I made Kale Chips. They were really tasty, and will be repeated when kale is in season each year.
What they are: Seasoned, lightly oiled kale pieces which are dehydrated until crispy. A very tasty snack, chock full of nutrition, and the hubby is willing to eat them like potato chips- SCORE! They're not full of crunch like potato chips, because they're dried leaves. Think about the crunch of dried leaves on the ground as you step on them. That's the level of crunch you get in a kale chip.
The recipe I used is from here:
http://www.raw-food-living.com/cracker-recipes.html
I used that recipe because I wanted the first batch to be simple, with no flavors hiding or competing with the kale-ness. Having tried that, I now have a pretty good idea of what flavors I'd enjoy. I intend to get creative with it in the near future. The chips are perfectly tasty with just the olive oil and salt, but would definitely not suffer if some extra flavor was thrown in! If you want to jump right into the flavored kale chips, just Google "kale chip recipe" or something like that; you'll find oodles of possibilities.
If you should decide to make them for yourself, I do have a couple of tips:
Check the backs of the leaves before you tear them up for use, or if possible, before you purchase them. If you see any fuzzy little white spots, dispose of that portion of the leaf. There is a certain variety of bug that really likes kale and those fuzzy little white spots are cocoons for this bug. Definitely something to avoid having in your kale chips!
The recipe uses only a small amount of oil for good reason. If you have trouble getting it distributed through all of the kale pieces and decide to use more, be sure to increase the seasoning, too. It would also be a good idea to drain the excess oil off and then blot the excess off of the pieces with a paper towel. (Okay, I'll admit it. My version of 'blotting' is to put the paper towel in my hand and grab a small handful of kale pieces with it, then rub gently. Kale has pretty sturdy leaves, so it doesn't damage them to do this.)
For the best possible texture, placement on the dehydrator tray or drying rack is actually very important. They must be single layer with a little space between each. They can be close together, but they don't shrink as much as you might expect, so air flow is critical.
You can tear them into pieces by hand or cut them into strips with scissors or a knife. This is a matter of personal preference and solely for aesthetics. The method I prefer is to use a paring knife to remove the tough central vein of each leaf, then tear the halves into about 3-4 pieces each, depending on the size of the leaf. This was what I found to be the happy medium between aesthetics and efficiency.
Enjoy!
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