From My CSA Box This Week - Kale Crisps

CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is a growing trend connecting you with your farmer.  If you'd like to consume more local, seasonal produce while supporting small family farms, this is a great option for you.  For about $20-25 a box, you get a whole mess of  in-season goodies, and many places will deliver straight to your door .   I plan my meals around what ends up in my box, which encourages me to eat my veggies and be creative with new recipes.  To find a farmer near you, visit Local Harvest.  Here's my farm!

This week, I got some gorgeous kale in my box, a hippie food favorite.  As a chip lover, I was intrigued by the concept of chips made out of something healthy that still tasted like something unhealthy/delicious.  I consulted about five different recipes, burned my first batch, tried again, and then came up with this:

Here's what I did:


1. Wash and thoroughly dry kale leaves.
2. Break leaves into bite-sized pieces - tear away from the stem in the middle.
3. Toss leaves with olive oil and a bit of salt.  You'll want to make sure that each piece is completely coated without oil globs, since that will burn - I think that was my mistake first time around.
4. Lay pieces out onto a baking tray and bake for about 14 minutes at 295, flipping halfway through.  (This is what worked for me - I saw instructions from 10 to 20 minutes, from 275 to 350 degrees.  Experimentation is fun, especially when your oven is from 1968.)
5. Take out, let cool, and enjoy, whether you are full-time crunchy or just dabbling in the culture.


These really do taste like chips, except that after consuming a bowlful of kale crisps, you feel great rather than bloated.  Win!


*Update: after playing around some more, I've found that baking these at 275 until crispy works best - no need to flip them.  My favorite way to eat these is with sesame seeds, which you can add in with the olive oil.  Great late night snack!


Linked up at Your Green Resource via Live Renewed.  Check out both for great ideas on living green!