Adventures with Kale

So I love to cook! These days I haven't had much time to cook, but I'm always thinking about it! And because I'm getting married next year I'd better get use to cooking all the time!

I've been hearing alot about the benefits of eating Kale. It has a lot of vitamins and it also helps fight off cancer! I found this on a website:

"Kale absolutely rich and abundant in calcium, lutein, iron, and Vitamins A, C, and K. Kale has seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and ten times more lutein. Kale is rich in Vitamin C not to mention the much needed fiber so lacking in the daily diet of processed food eating Americans. The "Icing on the Kale" are the natural occurring all important phytochemicals sulforaphane and indoles which research suggests may protect against cancer. Let's not forget the all important antioxidant Vitamin E. Rest assured kale spares nothing in providing one with much needed nutrients and associated health benefits."






So needless to say I am going to start adding Kale to my diet. Last night I tried a new recipe and mmmmmm it was so good!



Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage
2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups kale - washed, dried, and shredded
2 tablespoons chicken soup base
1 quart water
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream



Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Cut links in half lengthwise, then cut at an angle into 1/2-inch slices.
Place onions and bacon slices in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside.
Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken soup base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.
Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.









I can't have milk, so I just substituted the cream for plain soy milk (next time I will probably use soy cream) and I added a little extra water and Chicken soup base to make the broth go a little bit further! I also used spicy sausage for a little kick!



It came out really good! And because I added the Kale in the last couple of minutes it didn't cook out all of the nutrients! I would definitely suggest trying this!



The next thing I'm going to try is a Kale and Banana smoothie. It sounds a little scary, but it's worth a try! I will let you know how it turns out!