Kale

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Articles

• Kale - "Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties; kale is considered to be anti-inflammatory. Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties." - Wikipedia
  

Cultivation instructions

• Kale - Growing Kale in the Home Vegetable Garden - "Kale is a leafy vegetable that is usually grouped into the “Cooking Greens” category with collards, mustard and Swiss chard. The leaves can be curly and quite ornamental, but become too tough to eat fresh, as they mature. Kale is a member of the cabbage family and is susceptible to many of the same pests."
  
• How to grow kale - "Kale does not do well in hot weather, but doesn't mind the cold. Depending on your climate kale can also be sown in October for spring use if covered with straw during the winter."
  
• How to grow kale - "There is an ideal soil and site for Kale but rest assured, it will grow in almost all conditions"
  
• How to grow kale - Kale is a cool-weather crop that requires two months of cool weather to reach harvest.
  

Diary

• March 28, 2011

Last year i planted kale or borecole around September. That was a little late in the season but the plants still grew to reasonable size before frost set in. It was a cold winter but this sturdy plant survived several weeks of freezing temperatures. A bigger problem were wild rabbits who, when all the land was covered with snow, found my garden to be a nice storeroom. They ate most of the leaves but to my happy surprise the plants began growing new leaves in spring. In recent days the top leaves showed signs that the plants are preparing to make flowers. That's the end of harvest so i decided to take out all plants today except one that i'll keep for getting new seeds.

This is how the kale looked like a few days ago. You can see the yellowish leaves in the top that are forebodes of the plant going to shoot out and make flowers

Today was harvest time. It is essential to keep as little time as possible between harvesting and consuming. I look at this mostly from an energy viewpoint. A fresh and healthy plant radiates good energy and i want to conserve that energy in the food and on my plate.

Harvested kale ready for the cooking pan

Before freezing in, i cook the kale until boiling point and then cool them as fast as possible before. The juices that come free are kept as ingredient for soup. Our bodies exist on an energy level too and to keep ourselves healthy we must regard the energy qualities of everything that we eat. There are many principles to be learned for this when cultivating a garden. In the kitchen it is important that:

• All bad looking parts of the plants are taken out and thrown on the compost heap. Try to not only see what looks bad externally but also remove the leaves that don't 'shine'
  
• When washing the leaves don't put them on a table that is also used for 'unclean' things such as newspapers or garbage etc. Keep a special table for preparing food only. This maintains the good energy of that table and place and prevents the good energy of vegetables to be contaminated
  
• Keep the time between harvest and preparation of food as short as possible. One hour is much better than three hours and three hours is much better than one day.

Nutritious and medicinal properties

• Nutrition facts raw kale
• The truth about kale - "Kale, also known as borecole, is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet... One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K -- and sulphur-containing phytonutrients."
  

Recipes

• Kale: 101 - video
• Kale Chips - video
  
• Several recipes and info about kale
  

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