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VICTORY GARDENS: On Why Kale Is So Damn Awesome (And What To Do With it)

by Lisa Giroday, Sandra Lopuch and Sam Philips | The time has come to unleash our undying love and fervor for kale. Kale is seriously good for you, and forever in season. Just looking at a kale salad makes one feel healthier. The vitamins almost seep in to the ciliary muscles of your eyes by upon sight of this luscious, deeply green vegetable. Kale is rich in beta-carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and calcium. It also contains phytochemicals that appear to have anti-cancer properties.

This all-star member of the Brassica family (includes cabbage, broccoli, collards, and brussel sprouts) is so easy to grow that it seems unreal. Do you have a north-facing apartment balcony? No problem. It can tolerate lower light conditions, thrives in cooler weather, and overwinters well. Kale is also relatively pest-free, although we did have to keep the aphids and cabbage moths off a bit this year. Did you know that kale is even sweeter and more delicious after a frost or two? And, in the spring, after overwintering, it makes delicious flowers that can be incorporated into salads (they’re also essential for the bees).

As if these weren’t reasons enough to grow this powerhouse of a vegetable, it doesn’t hurt to also note that kale is very ornamental. If you planted a garden with a variety of kale cultivars, the array of colours and textures together would be stunning. Redbor has curly leaves, a beautiful deep red hue; Red Russian has grey-green leaves with a purple stem and veins; and the heirloom Lacinato (or Black Tuscan kale) has leaves with a dinosaur skin-like texture. And the size differential? Some varieties of kale can reach a height of 6/7 feet!

What to do with the stuff: A salad is the best bet. If you find kale to be a tad toothsome, try letting the salad sit marinating in a vinaigrette for about 15 minutes before serving, and use a few different varieties in one salad for that sake of extended interest. Make kale chips (kind of popular these days), kale pesto, freeze it for soups or make a “Kalezone” (inspired by Roberta’s in Bushwick, Brooklyn). Speaking of plays on words involving kale, The Acorn restaurant on Main Street makes the most insanely addictive Kale Caesar (photo).

Anyways, if you’re becoming uninspired by – or bored – of kale because your six plants produce so much that you are running out of ideas, refer to the best-selling book that was published earlier this year, “The Book of Kale”, by Sharon Hanna. You’ll need the book regardless, as we’re pretty sure you’re addicted to the nourishment of this super plant and will never, ever, EVER get enough, even when it is deemed “so 2012”.

One final note: kale was included in the British Dig for Victory campaign during WWII as a vegetable that was easy to grow and provided important nutrients to enrich inadequate diets during rationing. So there you go. Kale, always victorious.

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Victory Gardens is a team of local urban farmers for hire. Lisa, Sandra and Sam help transform tired or underused residential and commercial green spaces into food producing gardens. Their goal is to challenge the way communities use space and to participate in the change needed to consume food more sustainably. For the rest of the growing season, they’ve hooked up with Scout to share some cool tips and tricks on how to get the best from of our own backyards.

There are 5 comments

  1. I’m with you Carlos. Calde Verde is the best thing to make with kale, with sausage in my case. Stick to the classics and all will be well.

  2. Hey, thanks for liking The Book of Kale. Raw is fine, delicious and great…BUT the nutritionists and scientists I worked with when writing the book come to the consensus that cooked (at least for a few minutes) brings the biggest load of nutrients. For example, beta carotene (Vit A) is increased 300% by cooking. This is also so for the rest of the Brassica family!
    thanks again…
    Sharon Hanna

  3. The best use of kale I’ve ever enjoyed on the west coast is Robillita. This is classical Tuscan soup, with cannellini beans. But instead of cavolo nero (black cabbage), substitute kale. Perfetto.

    Robillita means to “reboil” the next day, as the flavours improve as does chili.