I buy alot of kale for my rabbit.
But I'm wondering how I can prepare some for myself?
Is it used raw in salad or do you cook it?

I'll use Kale or any green (I mostly use collards) to make juice (I use a VitaMix)along with carrots and onions and a touch of Apple Cider Vinegar. Or in a stir fry in which I mainly use one potatoe, onions, broccoli, and whatever other vegetables need using up (sprouts, squash, peppers, you name it), add a little seasoning (I use miso) and wrap what I can in a whole wheat or multi-grain tortilla, and pour what's left on top.

It's pretty tough and green-tasting raw. Cooking improves the flavor IMO. Saute or steam it until bright green - you don't have to cook it all the way down, although you can if you like.

I like to saute it in some olive oil w/onions, garlic and shi-take mushrooms - add a little chicken broth, soy sauce, etc. for extra flavor.

Be sure to strip or cut the tough central stem out first. Then cut it up and saute it with olive oil and onions. Sometimes I put a little vinegar like pepper vinegar in right towards the end.

I love Potato/Kale soup. Just sautee some onions & garlic until translucent. Then add some peeled chopped potatoes. Cover with water & cook until the potatoes are done. Puree the potato mixture, put back in the pot & add some chopped kale & a little tarragon. Heat just until the kale is tender & serve. You may need to add a little extra water, just depending on how thick you like your soup. Great with a thick slab of crusty bread!

Ooh, Bekah – that reminds me of Caldo Gallego. It's a hearty Spanish Galician soup (also popular in Cuba). Take the same ingredients as yours, substitute fresh parsley for the tarragon, add some cubed chorizo (or ham if you like) and white beans. The potatoes are not pureed, but they are cooked in the broth until tender. Delicioso!

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?q=Caldo%20Gallego

Matt, that sounds incredible! I'm making some of that very soon!

Kale is very high in antioxidants so it is nice to see recipes for it. I was going to grow it but I read they get clubroot easily. Anyone have trouble with that?

My kale grew beautifully with almost no attention from me. It was the easiest of any of the cole crops I've tried growing - had no problems with cabbage moths, although I did harvest it pretty early in the season, before the heavy infestation set in on my broccoli. I'm going to start a 2nd crop of kale soon for fall.

Has anyone tried growing lacinto kale? I buy that often at the health food store and I really like it, but haven't tried growing it yet. The leaves are long and slender and less crinkled than the more common varieties, and the color is a deep blue-green.

Yes I've grown Lacinato kale also known as Dinasaur Kale before.It is a lot easier to clean to me and taste better also in my opinion. I only grow kale for the fall garden though, gets to hot to quick in the spring down here.

Thank you all for these recipes. They all sound good. I had no idea that so many good things can be done with kale.
I never really thought of kale at all, until I found a stray rabbit and learned about all of the foods he needs.
I try to get his foods organic when I can find them.
Wouldn't it be funny if I get healthy thanks to rescuing a little rabbit?

I read somewhere that kale gets sweeter after a light frost. The only time I've eaten it was late in the fall and I made it into cole slaw. It wasn't too bad.

G'Day All!

If any of you have chickens (we call them chooks Down Under) feed them the blemished leaves that you would otherwise throw on the compost pile. The darker the greens you feed the chooks the more orange are their egg yolks. Of all the brassica family kale has the darkest leaves.

When we lived in Sydney and grew kale for the chooks and canaries we used to cook it the Polish way with cabbage. It made it a lot tastier as the cabbage took that sharp edge off the kale. I never did get the recipe from my mother as all of hers were in her head, nothing written. Let me know if you might want to give it a go and I'll extract it from my Mom's 'memory bank' by sitting next to her with pen and paper as she goes thru each of the steps.

Hey Skip, you around? I grew kale for the first time this year and have several heads nearly ready. Buoyed by my success, I'm planning a second crop for fall. Would love your recipe for doing a fall kale / cabbage mix. (No rush. No cabbage yet.) Thanks!

Matt-choo & Bekah, I love the potato / kale soup ideas. Any other suggestions anyone?

I've always done a sort of "steam-fry". Wash kale in water & coarsely chop. "Steam-fry" in olive oil & garlic. Either that or sometimes I'll use it in veggie soup.

Someone posted a recipe for pumpkin lasagna here a while back – I tend to use a lot more kale and less of the sausage than it calls for.