KALE // vegetables
🥬🤔 There’s more to kale than just the leaves, did you know the stems are edible? Don’t toss them transform them into delicious treasures! Grandma Sita has creative ways to repurpose every last bite. So, cutting them crossways shortens the fibres and can be cooked like sauteed, boiled, or steamed leaves. And what else can this seasonal leafy green vegetable offer?
đź’Ş Luckily, kale is in full swing! Planted in the late fall, it provides handfuls of greens winter long. Kale is a dark leafy green like romaine lettuce, and collard greens, and is rich in antioxidants, vitamins C and K. A single cup of raw kale contains more vitamin C than an orange.
👩‍🍳 Kale is a dark, leafy green that can be steamed, stir-fried, roasted, or eaten raw. Great to blend into smoothies, roast to make kale chips, mash with potatoes, turn into pesto, or wilt into soup like Grandma Sita’s hearty vegetable pasta soup made with winter seasonal produce will warm your body and soul during the cold season of the year.
👵💚Grandma Sita’s tips:
*The best way to keep kale is by storing them inside a container in the vegetable drawer of your fridge.
*Raw kale can be frozen, the next time you purchase too much at the store, don’t let it go to waste. Wash, chop, blanch, then flash-freeze kale, and can keep for up to one year.
*In fact, frozen kale has slightly more vitamins than fresh. This is because when greens are frozen, they lose some water, which slightly concentrates the nutrients.
đź“—Kale or leaf cabbage is part of leafy green vegetables (Brassica oleracea family), which includes cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, collard greens, and Brussels sprouts. Kale cultivars are grown for their edible green or purple leaves, although some are used as ornamentals.
🚜 Planted in the late fall, kale is hardy thrives in wintertime and can survive in temperatures as low as –15.0° Celsius. Fun fact, kale can become sweeter after a heavy frost.
🌎 Grandma Sita reminds us that seasonal zero-waste plant-based cooking isn’t just good for our health, it’s a way to honour the Earth and the food it provides. Eating local and seasonal fruits and vegetables helps to reduce food waste, saves resources, improves food quality and healthy habits, and boosts the local economy.