Baby Kale

[PrincessFiona60]

I found a 1.5 pound bag of Baby Kale at Costco. I'm not sure if I want to steam or sauté it. I want to do the whole bag at once and then portion. I will not be seasoning it until I am ready to eat and if I sauté, will be using avocado oil.

What think you, my friends?

 

[bethzaring]

You can't go wrong with bacon for flavoring.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Actually, I do love the bacon idea, but I was hoping for some guidance in steaming or sauteing the whole bag, this is going to be almost 9 breakfast servings for me.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

No answers??? I just got done par-steaming 2 pounds of cauliflower and 3 pounds of broccoli, portioning and freezing for Shrek. I'm on to the kale in about 20 minutes if anyone can help me out.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Sorry, but I got nuthin'. I've used kale just in soups and casseroles. And what are you doing up this late? Isn't it past your bedtime?

 

[menumaker]

Sorry PF,
Obviously on a different time scale to you so didn't pick up your request in time. However, for what it's worth I flavor mine with cracked black pepper, lashings of butter ( don't tell my Doctor ) and a sprinkling of caraway seeds

 

[Aunt Bea]

I would rinse it and toss it into a hot pan with a little oil, cover it and stir fry/steam it until it wilts and becomes tender. Toss in some raisins or other dried fruit and some nuts, similar to the recent thread on spinach. It would also be great served plain with salt/pepper and a drizzle of apple cider vinegar or the fried bacon crumbles or garlic. A nest of it topped with a runny poached egg is a great breakfast.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Sorry, but I got nuthin'. I've used kale just in soups and casseroles. And what are you doing up this late? Isn't it past your bedtime?

I was still par-steaming our veggie haul from Costco, got started on it late. I would have waited till today, but had no room in the fridge for the huge packages. Now I'm awake because of cats...

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Sorry PF,
Obviously on a different time scale to you so didn't pick up your request in time. However, for what it's worth I flavor mine with cracked black pepper, lashings of butter ( don't tell my Doctor ) and a sprinkling of caraway seeds

Yes, my Doctor hollers at me about butter, too! I hadn't considered caraway, thanks!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I would rinse it and toss it into a hot pan with a little oil, cover it and stir fry/steam it until it wilts and becomes tender. Toss in some raisins or other dried fruit and some nuts, similar to the recent thread on spinach. It would also be great served plain with salt/pepper and a drizzle of apple cider vinegar or the fried bacon crumbles or garlic. A nest of it topped with a runny poached egg is a great breakfast.

Thanks, Aunt Bea! I ended up par-steaming it in the micro wave. 3 minutes for each batch (2 handfuls) , I had 8 batches that cooked down to 1/2 cup servings. Probably would have been faster in a stockpot for the whole package, but they are a brilliant green.

I didn't season them at all as I want to try different things with each batch so I don't get bored with it. I'm using the kale a a nest for my breakfast eggs, the first one I make will be made with dried cranberries and walnuts. I plan on a Mexican style one morning and a curried one, too. The rest is up to whatever I drag out of the spice cabinet.

 

[CarolPa]

I never cooked a large quantity of kale. I saute onion, garlic, mushroom then add the chopped greens with a little bit of chicken stock or water, put a lid on it, and let it wilt down over a low flame. Today I added some canned lentils. You probably could have done the whole batch in a stock pot with a small amount of water so it would not have any added flavor. I don't know if my way is the way it's supposed to be done. I just read about cooking greens and took pointers from the various websites. I don't want to add anything like bacon, ham hocks or smoked sausage.

 

[CWS4322]

I steam, cook in water, and saute kale. I like to sprinkle nutritional yeast on it (before plopping my 2 poached eggs on it). Glad to hear you're giving the greens for breakfast a try!

 

[Jing]

I have tried these bags and love them! Like Aunt Bea, I wilt them in a splash of olive oil in a saute pan....but I usually toss in a minced garlic clove too. If it's for supper, I sometimes also add dried chile pepper. Very very yummy...and so quick and easy.

 

[Somebunny]

I hope they have this baby Kale at my Costco! I will even try the "greens for breakfast" Ala CWS! I'm excited, I love Kale. Let us know how you liked the par steaming PF. I wonder if I can blanch and freeze?

 

[Breathing Couch]

i'm also going to try that!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

The par steaming is fine, still needs a little more cooking to make it nicely tender, but I plan on sauteing it in the morning with a little avocado oil, minced garlic and top with an egg, I have some smoked salt to sprinkle on with a grind of pepper. I'm hoping to get it tender enough I can eat it without teeth... I like to eat breakfast before I'm presentable

 

[Aunt Bea]

If you are feeling a little adventurous for breakfast or dinner try a portion of your seasoned kale on top of a bowl of oatmeal.

It is really quite good once you get your head wrapped around it.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

If you are feeling a little adventurous for breakfast or dinner try a portion of your seasoned kale on top of a bowl of oatmeal.

It is really quite good once you get your head wrapped around it.

That was going to be one of my choices...I played it safe this morning with my favorite taco seasoning. Quite good, but now I wish I had some refries.

I'm going to have to have refries and taco meat or chorizo on hand so I can make migas in the mornings. Yum!

 

[CarolPa]

As much as I love kale and as much as I love eggs, I'm not sure about a runny egg with my kale. I think I would have to add the kale to scrambled eggs like I do other veggies. I don't buy baby kale. I buy grown-up kale. LOL I also switched from baby spinach to flat leaf spinach when I saw that I got almost twice as much for the same amount of money. I'm going to chop it up, either way. All I can say is there better be a big difference in my blood work after all these green leafy veggies I'm eating!

 

[CarolPa]

I just made some greens, kale, spinach and collards, for lunch. I didn't add any liquid to it other than the bit of olive oil I used to saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Since I chop the greens and put them in a colandar in a sink full of cold water to clean them, they had some water clinging to them. That was enough. I just watched it closely to make sure it didn't burn. I think not having any liquid in it helped to retain more of the nutritional value.