“Go to” Kale Salad

Even since Scott has gotten back from his adventures studying elk and wolves in Montana and Yellowstone, which you can read a little about here, I have taken on project “Clean Out Basement”. This project has been waiting in the wings for months, dare I say years, so I apologize for the lack of posts recently. Additionally,  I have been looking at my back log of possible blog posts and have realize that a lot of them happen to be food oriented! We have, however, been working on a bunch of multiple step, multiple day craft projects. So to stir up your curiosity, here are a few sneak peeks of what craft projects will be posted in the hopefully near future!

Jellyfish:

4th of July star mobile:

And then, there is the second part of our rainbow sorting boxes that still needs to happen…we just have to get some more paint!

Until then, here is a super quick kale salad that has become a staple in our household. With our CSA in full tilt, we have a ton of kale at our desposal…so this combination is perfect and makes me SO happy.

“Go To” Kale Salad

• large bunch of raw kale
• large handful raw shelled pumpkin seeds
• large handful raw shelled sunflower seeds
• large handful dried cranberries
• 6 teaspoons good olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• about 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste

De-vein the kale and chopped into small narrow ribbons. Clean and spin dry. Let sit for a few minutes while you prepare the rest. Toast the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds until they start popping and have a slight brown color to them. Once done, let them cool. Make vinaigrette. Whisk together approximately 6 teaspoons olive oil and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Add a touch of Dijon mustard and a  good pinch of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Whisk well, taste, and add more Dijon or salt and pepper to your desire. When vinaigrette is done, toss into the kale, add the cooled seeds and cranberries. Toss really well and let sit. This is key for the kale to lose that raw bitter taste. You can even make this salad earlier in the day for a lunch or for dinner. I have, however, also made it about half an hour before I have eaten it and it is just fine by me. What is also fabulous about this salad, is that it keeps really well in the fridge for a couple of days even after you have dressed it. It does not get soggy like traditional leafy salad.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes and any variations you think of…I would love to try them out!! Enjoy!!