Ew, Kale!

I have disliked kale for a long, long time.

This hatred of sorts comes from a single, slightly traumatic kale-related memory. Back when I was in girl scouts, sometime in late elementary school or early high school, my troop had the opportunity to work on a float for the Pasadena Rose Parade. For those of you who don't know what that is here is a summary:  every January 1, in honor of the Rose Bowl, Pasadena (a city in Los Angeles County near where I attended high school) has a parade that features floats made entirely out of plants and flowers; every one of the floats is designed and decorated with a variety of flora and nothing else. Our troop was assigned to work on a Dr. Seuss-themed float, which was awesome. I was pumped. At least until I got my assignment: taking the stickiest glue you can imagine and adhering bunches of kale to one another to create the top of a tree-like feature on the float. Seven or so hours later in the California sun, I was sticky from head to toe, had pieces of kale clinging all over my body, most notably in my hair, and was inundated with the smell of overripe, wilting kale.

From that moment forth, I lived a kale-less existence, by choice.

Today, thanks to Martha, I lifted my kale ban. After all, kale is extremely healthy, loaded with beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin - all good things that I could definitely use.

I decided to make Martha's Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing. Because the kale is raw in this recipe, I wouldn't lose any nutrients by cooking. And it was easy as pie! I chopped up a big bunch of kale, some carrots, and a (green, not yellow, red or orange) pepper. I also added in some grape tomatoes, my favorite vegetable, for good measure.

For the dressing, I got to use my brand-new Cuisinart Food Processor, courtesy of my fantastic mother. I combined olive oil, apple cider vinegar, peanuts, salt and brown sugar and blended away, a process that took less than a minute.

I have to say, the salad was absolutely, positively DELICIOUS. It might be the dressing that made it, but I completely loved this salad. I have lots of leftovers and am definitely bringing this to work for lunch this week. I highly recommend this recipe: healthy, fast and beyond delicious!

Recipe (by Martha Stewart at marthastewart.com):

Ingredients

 Serves 8

• 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
• 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts
• 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts

Directions

1. Toss 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups); 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise; and 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise, in a large bowl.
2. Puree 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup salted peanuts, 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in a blender until smooth.
3. Pour dressing over vegetables just before serving. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing - Martha Stewart Recipes