Kale -- does anyone cook with it or use it like cabbage?

Sarape

Down here in Alabama, purple (Russian) kale and white kale are used as decorative plants most often around mailboxes. I've cooked kale and cabbage together along with wild onions and other garden greens like parsley and turnips to make a vegetable broth or soup.

Has anyone noticed any problems with eating kale? I was wondering if a frequent nightly cough was linked to my eating kale.

After the New-Year episode with the family food poisoning by the daffodils, I'm a little bit leary of what goes in the soup pot.
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Rainey · Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 11:05 pm Post subject:

Kale is a wonderful veggie with a big nutrition boost. I can't imagine it causing a cough. The only concern would be to someone who is on blood-thinning meds. They would want to avoid the great concentation of vit K in the dark, leafy veggies.

That being said, I'm concerned that you may be eating an "ornamental" kale that's intended as a showy landscaping plant. I don't know that that designation means it's unsafe to eat, but it won't be the best eating you'll have if you want to have kale.

Are you in an area where you have a county agricultural agent? They could advise you.

brighidsdaughter · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 233 Location: Canton, TX USA

Mmm Kale! I love it. I buy the dark green stuff in the produce section. Haven't ever tried eating the ornamentals but have been known to line platters of raw veggies with them when I was catering. However, I was careful to use kale that I knew had not been sprayed with pesticides.

I once developed a horrible cough and sore throat from working with raw wool that had been accidentally sprayed during shipping (I'm a textiles artist in my non-food life).

When I make the traditional Irish dish, colcannon, I now use kale almost exclusively instead of cabbage. The dark green is prettier than pale cabbage when mixed with the mashed potatoes, and I prefer the flavor. I also like it alone, cooked in a little broth.

Sarape · Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 4:03 pm Post subject:

I hadn't been eating my kale soup for the past week and my cough was gone. That's why I thought there might be a link. Well, last night I had a bowl of the kale cum cabbage soup. No cough all night. So, I guess there was no link between my kale and my cough.

Yes, I am eating the ornamental kale -- but, it takes fine to me. Again, mine is slow cooked for about 7 hours in a big pot with cabbage and other garden greens.
_________________
' She says, 'I am the glamorous type.' I said, 'So what?'

shelli · Joined: 14 Jan 2005 Posts: 2

I make a pasta sauce by melting anchovies in good olive oil, adding garlic and chopped up kale and braising with some white wine or broth until kale is soft. Toss with penne or similar pasta. This also works without the pasta as a vegetable with roast chicken or grilled fish.

brighidsdaughter · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 233 Location: Canton, TX USA

Hi Shelli & welcome to the C&Z forums. Your kale and pasta sounds delicious. I have some good anchovies, olive oil and garlic. This sounds like a quick weeknight recipe & I plan to try it soon.

Sydneygirl · Joined: 09 Jan 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Sydney, Australia

Although I have trouble locating kale here when I do have it I love to cook it with some lardons and sauteed onions, sometimes even with a few sultanas-yum! Usually we eat this accompanied by whatever protein is around.

wildblues · Joined: 22 Jan 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Philadelphia, PA

Kale is comfort food for me. On October evenings in New York State when I was a young girl I would climb the hill to the garden with a wide basket and a flashlight and the instructions to pick enough kale for dinner. Back in the bright kitchen, each leaf would be individually washed and the leafy bits stripped from the central stem. We would cover the bottom of a big, deep saucepan with half an inch of salted water, bring it to the boil, and then throw all the kale in, cover it and steam until bright and encouragingly tender, somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. We would gather it with tongs and pour melted butter over it, eating it immediately- it gets cold quickly. I loved its saltiness and lively texture and the way the butter ran down my chin. In elementary school when asked to list my favorite foods, kale was always right after wild blueberry muffins. I still love it - its quick and stunningly healthy while really being a pleasure to eat.