This Thursday I had my first opportunity to work on the SAMM Van! I didn’t realize how much I would learn when preparing for and working at the mobile market. We had quite the variety of vegetables including: kale, radish, swiss chard, lettuce, and more. I noticed that many people would ask questions about how to cook the produce and what it goes well with. Because of this I tried to think of a meal or snack that each vegetable could be used in.
One of the most frequent vegetables people would ask about was kale. Many people wanted to make something with it but weren’t sure exactly what to do. Until this past year I was in the same shoes. Fortunately I learned how to make probably the easiest snack in the world – kale chips. Kale is currently in season so it is extra fresh and several local farms have it in stock. It’s a good source of potassium and fiber as well! For this meal I was able to obtain a few bunches from Brandmoore Farm in Rollinsford, NH. Besides kale you only need very little salt and olive oil which many people have in their house already. If you like, you may choose to embellish the recipe with other spices or additions such as red pepper flakes, lemon or lime juice etc. If you happen to have a dehydrator, kale chips could be made using that method as well.
Procedure:
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Heat oven to 325F. Put foil on a baking sheet.
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Tear pieces of the leaves to a size of your liking, wash them, and place them on the pan.
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Drizzle olive oil and salt on the kale, mixing well
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Put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes.
I tend to check on the chips every few minutes to make sure they don’t burn. There isn’t a set amount of olive oil and salt you have to put on them – that is entirely up to you! A pinch of salt usually lasts for around 5 chips when I do it. To add a kick sometimes I will put very little cayenne pepper on them. This is a quick and inexpensive snack to make for kids to bring to school, to eat between lunch and dinner, or just to have throughout the day. If you have excess bunches of kale you can sauté it and then freeze it to use at another time!