What to make with Kale and our Garden Gift-Away Winner!

 I know that everyone in your family is jumping for joy when Kale is served!  Ok, maybe you do not get as excited about Kale as I do, but it is one of the easiest vegetables to grow, it is healthy, and there are many ways to cook with it!

If you are a member of a CSA - most likely, you will be or have already gotten Kale.  We were a member of a local organic farmers crop share for the last 3 years and got Kale almost weekly in our bags.  The CSA ended up right around $2.50 per vegetable in our weekly bag, so 4 weeks of Kale would have been $10, 4 months of Kale $40. This year, our gardens are finally big enough that we were able to grow enough seasonal vegetables to meet our families needs.  I can buy $1.00 worth of Kale seeds at the local Feed and Seed, share some with at least 8 friends + the school garden and have more than enough to plant an entire 8'x8' bed of Kale (But who needs THAT much?  Not me!)  So you see, for $39 less and not too much more work, I have Kale right out my side door, whenever I want it!.  Right now, I have a 2 " by 4" garden bed full of Kale!  If you ask my 5 year old's opinion about Kale, she would say, "I like kale cooked."  It is good in almost anything!  Here are some of my most common ways to add more Kale to our diets.

1. Restaurant-Style Zuppa Toscana
2. Chopped and in our spaghetti sauce
3. In minestrone
4. As a pizza topping
5. In home-made bread, just like this Giant Gator bread I made with oats and Kale.  Sliced down the middle, it made a fantastic chicken salad.

It is a cooler season vegetable and will last with a frost, so southern planters can still add it to their gardens.  If you are looking our your window at a blanket of white, just make a note in your gardening plan book to add some kale. If nothing else, it is a pretty leafy plant!

Last, but not least, I would like to announce the winner of our gardening gift-away! This is not a contest in anyway and no entries were required! (Although we always love followers!) Mary Anne at Mama Smiles has been a consistent commenter and supporter of our blog.  She wrote, "Your quilt is fantastic!!! I picked up a pattern for a quilt like this - hoping to use the pattern as inspiration rather than simply copying it. Now I can be inspired by your quilt as well! "  on our recent Monster Quilt posting.  We really appreciate this support and are so glad that we have been an inspiration to others.  We will be sending her an herb garden (Courtesy of Growums) to grow with her children.  Your comments truly do make our days!  Please keep them coming!  We hope to host another gift-away soon =)