From the Holland Sentinel
Claire Gerhardt holds some kale from the Boeve Farm booth at the Holland Farmer's Market.

Monday, October 29, 2007

What is kale?

Veggie is loaded with nutrients
By Yvette Odell Sentinel contributor

If you're looking for a veggie that's packed with nutrients (vitamins A, C, E, K, calcium, iron and others minerals, beta carotene, fiber, lutein, some omega 3s and even a little bit of protein), open wide for kale.

This ancient vegetable is actually wild cabbage in the "cole" family with collard greens, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts, to name a few. Although no one is certain, some historians say that kale was brought from Asia Minor to Europe by groups of Celtic wanderers around 600 B.C. Wild cabbage was developed to form a head perhaps as long as 2,000 years ago.

There's good reason this vegetable has been around for so long. It's a hardy plant and some say it's the most nutritional vegetable there is. It's enjoying renewed popularity as people become more nutrition-conscious.

Kale is especially sweet if it has been in the field for a frost. You might actually like it, and your kids will too, if you can find kale that has been grown in some cold weather. Now that we have fall weather, you'll find it locally at the Holland Farmers' Market.

I know someone who has requested kale every year for her birthday since she was little. Now that she's older, she even volunteers to prepare it herself. Here's how she does it:

Claire's Kale

5 bacon strips, chopped (you can omit this but add more oil)

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 cup water

Salt to taste (or soy sauce)

In a 5-quart pot (we use a cast-iron Dutch oven), saute the bacon in the oil over medium heat until cooked, but not crispy. Add the sesame seeds and toss around in the fat. Put the kale in the pot and stir it around until it wilts. You can fill the pot, cook it down, then add more kale, continuing until you have all your kale in the pot. Add the water and salt. Cover and cook for 25 minutes or longer. Check every so often and add water if needed. The leaves should be tender and the water nearly cooked away. A longer cooking time will release more minerals, making them more accessible for your body.We do a whole bouquet of kale at a time so that there are leftovers to toss in to the vegetable beef soup. Or try this easy and delicious idea: add leftover kale to your favorite mashed potato recipe and top with 2 leeks and half of a sweet red pepper sauteed in some butter.

Freezing extra kale is easy if you wash and prepare the leaves, fill a plastic bag and store in the freezer.

Yvette Odell, who wrote this story for the Sentinel, was chosen to present a session on "Classroom Management with a Sensory Approach" to her peers at the annual Kindermusik Convention to be held in Chicago. She has been teaching young children since 1980 and teaching Kindermusik in Holland since 1995.