You may not know this but tomorrow is a big national celebration of something great: Kale. Yep, October 2nd is National Kale Day.
Kale is also a big deal for us on many other days of the year. Why? Because kale is one of our favourite crops and a favourite vegetable for many of our customers. Many of our customers buy kale from us every week. We also have many customers who are new to kale and ask us how to eat kale.
On our farm, kale thought bubbles first begin when we are doing crop planning and seed ordering in the winter. Since, we LOVE (slash are mildly obsessed with) trialling new varieties, we order a number of kale varieties each year. This past season, we grew our standards: Winterbor, Redbor, and Dinosaur (aka Lacinato, Black, or Tuscan) kale, along with some new-to-us ones like White Russian, Red Ursa, and Rainbow Lacinato (aka Rainbow Dino).
Winterbor is the green curly kind that most people recognize. It’s good and hardy and the curliness always makes it seem happy and upbeat when it’s on our market stand. Here’s a picture of it growing in the field earlier in the season.
We have already started kale for early next spring. As soon as the greenhouse tomatoes have been removed, the beds inside will be prepared and then planted with kale (among other col-hardy vegetables). This is one of those young kale plants waiting to be planted.
Kale is super versatile in the kitchen and super nutritious. Many older farmers tell us they used to grow kale to feed their livestock. Since many farmers think more about the nutrition of their livestock than their own personal nutrition, I consider this a pretty great testament to the health benefits of kale.
We personally love it best in Massaged Kale Salad, Kale Chips, and Green Smoothies.
What’s your favourite way to eat kale? Which variety is your favourite?
I just love it with an onion sauté in extra virgin coconut oil, garlic and any other greens I may have (looks good with beet greens). A dash or two of Jerk sauce (Bought from the local farmers market). It is easy to make and easy to eat lots of Kale. My favourite is the purple dino!!! Keep up the great work!