OH KALE YEAH!
Kale used to be the underdog, the ugly duckling, the outcast of the vegetable family but all of a sudden a few years ago it really grew in popularity. Some of you all may have been eating it your whole lives and then others of you have just started liking it, whatever the case may be it is really worth adding to your diet. Kale is full of wonderful nutrients including really high amounts of Vitamin A, K, and C. It really stands out for its anti-inflammatory nutrients, antioxidant nutrients, and anti-cancer nutrients but then you may be wondering why all these nutrients even matter. Well I’ll start with the first two since anti-cancer nutrients is pretty self explanatory. Antioxidants help with preventing oxidative stress, which in just a few words can cause DNA damage, cellular signaling disruption, and is thought to be involved in the development of quite a few illnesses (including cancer). Anti-inflammatory nutrients help with keeping chronic inflammation away, which makes a lot of sense. Okay okay enough about that… on to history! I’ll keep it short but kale has been around for a long time. It’s thought to have originated in Asia Minor and that it was brought to Europe as early as 600 BC by Celtic wanderers. It was a big crop during Roman times and it was really popular amongst the peasants during the Middle Ages (oh how the times have changed). Kale really didn’t become commercially grown in the US of A until 1980 in California. Kale is great because it is so versatile: you can steam it, eat it raw, bake it and make a chip out of it, add it to soups, sauté it , and the list goes on. If you’re looking for some new ways to prepare it, here are two combos:
- kale + garlic + olive oil + red wine vinegar
- kale + onions + salt + smoked sausage
And for some more ideas please stop by the market this Saturday at 9 AM for a cooking demo with Shawn Minnix executive chef at the Crown Sterling in town.
sources:
The Flavor Bible