Kale and Kale

My favorite kale variety to date is the Russian Purple Kale which turns completely purple after a frost. The kale appears to be more tender than other varieties and the color is superb, however, I noticed the kale turning from dark purple to a very dark green as I was cooking it. I immediately added a bit of lemon hoping to preserve as much of the purple color as possible.

Per my previous posts where the stem of the kale did not soften on cooking, I have found that the stem of some varieties becomes tender on cooking and the stems of other varieties remain almost woody.

I found frozen kale in one store, Whole Foods, and have it in the freezer for those occasions when I can not get to the fresh market, such as on very snowy days as today!

                                                                                 

I have been putting kale in everything from stir fry to soups and we continue to love it.

I will be searching for kale seed as it gets closer to spring and hope to plant several varieties in my garden.

I have found that the flowering kale in my flower garden, is the most delicious and tender kale of all and it is safe under the snow outside until I am ready to pick it. One of our local vegetable markets sells the flowering kale as a vegetable and it is the most expensive of the kales at our store, definitely worth planting for its beautiful color, tenderness and taste in cooking!