Tag Archives: eat local

Purple Kale Chips

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So, I was introduced to the idea of kale chips by my friend Lori, and she easily converted our friend Cyndy into a true believer…but somehow I’d never gotten around to kale chips. Then, the one time I tried them recently (with CSA kale), I managed to flub it. I was so excited about making the kale chips and jumping on this bandwagon that I didn’t really question whether I was putting too much on the tray. Turns out, I had put too much on. I didn’t realize at the time that kale chips need to be in a single layer to crisp effectively. When you have kale piled on top of kale (even just one extra layer), you can have limp kale instead of crackling, crunchy kale. It’s a critical difference.

Shot #2 at kale chips came when the week 5 CSA delivered into my hot little hands a bunch of purple kale. Ooh baby. Purple is one of my favorite colors, and when you put that together with a leafy green (leafy purple?), I just think that’s magic. As dh noted, “Purple IS a color found in nature!” So it is. I used the same amount of kale, but this time I divided it between two pans. That certainly made all of the difference, both in texture and in acceptance (everyone in the family eagerly dug in).

Thus, we have Cyndy’s recipe for kale chips with a slight set of mods. As I’d noted previously, I put Penzeys 4S seasoning on the regular kale chips (and the ones that came out crunchy were very tasty). Today, I did two pans – one with the 4S and one with a light sprinkling of salt and a very light dusting of ground white pepper. YES. This worked. Where the white pepper took hold, the kale had not only the green flavor of the kale but also the nice bite from the pepper that gave it a little kick.

 

Purple Kale Chips

So nice, I made 'em twice!

 

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10-13 mins

Serves: 1-6 (depending upon how good people are about SHARING)

 

Ingredients

1 bunch purple kale, stems removed

olive oil (no more than 1 Tb per baking sheet)

seasoning: your favorite seasoned salt, Penzeys 4S, or (for a spicier kick) salt and ground white pepper

 

Make it Happen

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Wash and dry the kale, then tear the leaves into small pieces.

3. Place the kale on baking sheets in a single layer. This is VERY important. If you have enough kale that you have to stack it in anything more than one layer, employ an additional sheet. The pieces can be touching (horizontally), but they should not be stacked.

4. Drizzle olive oil lightly over the kale, then toss with tongs to coat the kale with the oil.

5. Lightly sprinkle your seasoning of choice over top of the kale, then place the baking sheets in the oven. Cook for 10-13 mins.

6. You can tell the kale is done when you lightly touch the tops of some pieces and they make a light crunching sound. If there’s softness or give, then you need to leave it in longer.

Adventures in CSA (week 5): How do you price what you can’t find?

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I knew this week would be a bit of a challenge to price, since there were a couple of items that were different than what I suspected our store would carry. I already knew that our grocery store, while very well stocked, doesn’t carry Italian eggplant. I also suspected that purple kale would be a no-show, since I’ve never seen it there. And pea greens…? I’d never even seen them before, so I didn’t suspect we’d find them there. Strangely, upon dh’s return from the grocery store this morning, he said that not only were those three missing from our grocery store’s produce section, scallions were apparently hidden from sight, too!

Thus, this week’s list is a little tougher to put together. Caveats that I have to note, then, for complete transparency:

  • The price of the purple kale and the Italian eggplant are those for the *regular* items (meaning regular green kale and the standard eggplant). This likely depresses the prices I’m using, since the more specialty items would surely cost more at my grocery store.
  • The price for scallions is taken from the price noted in week 2. Based on what I saw last week, and this week as well, it’s possible that this price should have gone up a little bit in recent weeks. (Note also that scallions are priced by the bunch, not by weight.)
  • There was no equivalent for the pea greens, so I checked online and found a price for them at Green Garden Organics. I got a 4oz bag, so I used the price they listed for a single unit of a 4oz bag. I’m guessing that the price on this would have been higher at our local store, but I had to use something as a starting point.

And so, now we have the list of prices…

Week 5 CSA

Weight
(lb)

 Grocery Store Unit Price
(per lb)		 Grocery Store Total Item Cost
Tomatoes 0.76 $2.79 $2.11
Purple Kale* 0.43 $1.29 $0.55
Scallions* 1.00 $0.99 $0.99
Pea Greens* 1.00 $4.75 $4.75
Carrots 1.45 $0.99 $1.43
Green Peppers 1.15 $1.79 $2.06
Macintosh Apples 1.51 $1.19 $1.79
White Onion 0.72 $1.49 $1.07
Corn** 3.00 $0.60 $1.80
Italian Eggplant* 0.63 $1.17 $0.73
Asian Pears 2.00 $2.00 $4.00
Grocery Store Total Cost $21.29
Week 5 Savings (Deficit) $1.29
Program-to-Date Savings (Deficit) $15.77
Notes:
* Items were not available; closest equivalent was used.
** Closest equivalent is husked corn cobs sold in 5pks; unit price was derived from this comparable item

Wow. Where’d my savings go?

Well, first off, I’m not convinced that the prices I listed above would be as low as they are. Referring back to my caveats above, it’s highly unlikely that the purple kale, Italian eggplant and pea greens would have been at the prices listed above. more likely, they would cost more. Second, the non-specialty items would really be considered fairly pedestrian, so the prices aren’t going to be nearly as much. And this brings me to one of the potential takeaways from this exercise: perhaps one of the big lessons is that, through a CSA, you have access to produce that otherwise is really only available to those who know to look for it. It’s kind of like how we discovered green chickpeas at the Mediterranean grocery store near our house the other week. GREEN CHICKPEAS? FOR REALS? I’ve got my eye on a bean salad with these little guys (along with the white kidney beans we found at the same store). Now, had someone asked me 5 minutes before I saw them what color chickpeas came in, my answer would’ve been a resounding: DUH, they’re tan! Well, apparently, that’s not always the case.

So, the price “difference” isn’t necessarily just based on whether you buy it regional or local…it may also be a function of what you get that you didn’t even know existed. The CSA taught me that I like beets. I never knew that. I can’t even imagine what else this can teach me. And, given that I’m a stone’s throw from my 40’s, I think it’s a damn fine thing that I can learn anything at this point.

Adventures in CSA (week 5): Purple kale!

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This week brought quite a nice bit of good news: the program will continue for another 8 weeks (yeay!), albeit on an every-other-week schedule. So, my Adventures in CSA will continue into the winter with veggie boxes delivered to work. Yee-haw! The schedule will change a little, since the veggie boxes will arrive on Tuesdays. Thus, price comparisons will come days after the box contents are announced and planning the meals will be a little more of a scramble…but hey, we’ll figure it out.

I love Fridays right now. You have to picture this: It’s after 2:30pm and I head to a set of banquet tables near the company cafeteria that’s covered with veggie boxes for all of us who are participating in the program. You come for your pickup and peek into the boxes to see which one tickles your fancy the most. For the most part, they are all filled with the same basic ingredients, but today, the first box I picked up had a special surprise. I knew we were getting kale (yeay – more kale chips!)…but the box I opened had PURPLE KALE. Not only will I have yummy kale chips, they will be purple. That’s so fantastic, I just can’t even tell you.

 

Week 5 CSA

Lovin' the colors in this week's box...

 

Today’s box also included pea greens. I’d never even seen these out in the open (I truly doubt we’ll be able to find these at our grocery store). I can also vouch for their yumminess; a small amount of them went into an omelet tonight with bacon, CSA tomato and shredded cheese (monterey jack & cheddar). The omelet TOTALLY WORKED. I also accompanied it with toast that I had lightly coated with CSA honey from the week 4 box. Wow. For anyone who hasn’t yet tried wild flower honey, it does blow clover honey out of the water. The flavor is both subtler and richer, smoother and fuller. Brinner infused with CSA = WIN.

Week 5 box contents:

  • Purple kale
  • Scallions
  • Pea greens
  • Carrots
  • Macintosh apples
  • Corn
  • Green peppers
  • White onion
  • Italian eggplant
  • Asian pears
  • Tomatoes

Given what I now know about some of these items, I can make some predictions about how this week’s price comparison will go. The Asian pears alone should have a big impact on things, given their price of $2 apiece from a few weeks ago. If I had to guess, I’m going to go with a minimum $3 savings this week vs grocery store prices.

As for what to make with all of this yumminess…that’s where I’ll have to come up with some inspiration. I’m kinda sad that the sweet potatoes advertised in the heads-up e-mail from the CSA folks didn’t materialize, but they do warn you that actual contents may vary from what they hope to get in the box. The purple kale will definitely be turned into kale chips, and I may try to do something in a skillet with the pea greens and scallions. It just seems like those two would go nicely together in a pan. With a smidge of olive oil. And maybe some chicken. Mmm…