Tuesday, November 2, 2010

VeganMoFo IV: Behold the Power of Kale


Truth be told, I wanted to present a video today.  Unfortunately, my body needed sleep yesterday so we didn't finish editing.  We are hoping to do that tonight after we get back from voting.  So I thought I'd skip ahead, show some love, and make something for the first time!  First comes the love...

If you've never heard of Kittee, you need to get in the know.  I absolutely adore her for several reasons.  First, she lovingly calls people "titty babies" when they whine for no reason.  Second, she thinks xantham gum is the devil.  Third, she has the most colorful wardrobe I've ever seen.  She's also a really great cook.  I use her cake recipes religiously and Papa Tofu straight up introduced me to Ethiopian.  Why all this love?  Today, for the first time ever, I made kale chips!

You don't understand.  For years I've been oohing and ahhing over other people's kale chips (You down with OPKC?  Yeah, you know me!).  I was starting to get kale chip envy!  I just never had kale in the house or would forget to make those damn chips until I had used up all the kale.  It was a shame and made my heart hurt.  I made a promise, nay, A PLEDGE to make a bunch of things I've been pining for this year for VeganMoFo.  And so, I did...

nothing goes with kale chips like a nice, frothy beer smoothie
I used the recipe that Kittee posted back in June.  It was a fantastic experience.  I used the oven method and it took around an hour and a half.  I had to leave my oven door almost all the way open because the lowest temp is set at 200, but my oven thermometer said it was closer to 300.

These chips are a salty, crunchy, spicy, noochy good time.  I'd  call them noochilicious!  Era will be lucky if they last until he gets home.  And in the spirit of kale, I made myself a delicious green smoothie!  It was kale, cilantro, bartlett pear, banana, water, and a tiny splash of apple juice.  It was so good that when I yanked my blender from the unit, the bottom unscrewed and smoothie dripped all over the floor.  From my swearing, the dogs knew something was on the floor and ran in to have some smoothie.  Good times!  Haha.  Here's the obligatory smoothie shot.

green smoothie goodness
Well, that's all for now!  I've got some kale chips to eat and a whole mess of blogs to read.  Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have a video for you!  Happy MoFoing!

35 comments:

LJ said...

Mmmmmmm...congrats on making your own kale chips for the first time, Mo! So glad you enjoyed. And LOL, so glad the doggies enjoyed the smoothie. ;)

xoxo,
LJ

panda with cookie said...

Welcome to the world of kale chippin' my friend.

x said...

Kittee is cool!

And the chips look good but I have to admit I finally made some a few months back and I really disliked them. I might give them another go, using this recipe!

Andrea said...

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's video. I'm a kale chip lover, and can't get enough of the crispy leaves!

tiffannysketchbook said...

Once I ate everything in my fridge except for a bushel of Kale.I was going out of town so I had to get rid of it FAST. (hate to waste!)I had a Kale Smoothie with nothing else in it. Yes, just water, and Kale. I gagged it down. Worst thing ever. Your smoothie sounds good though :)

house vegan said...

I've always wanted to make these too! I may follow suit.

Mmmmm noochy kale.

Anonymous said...

Those chips look so yummy! I tried making kale chips once and some pieces were still kind of soft/chewy then, but I definitely loved the crispy parts. I need to make them again, thanks for reminding me! I like Kittee's idea of adding carrots.

BunzOfCinnamon said...

I made kale chips once and they turned out...not so good. But I haven't given up on them! So, I'm gonna try Kittee's recipe next time I get kale.
It's so funny, whenever I go to leave a comment on someone's blog, I almost always see that you've already posted a comment! I think we either have the same taste in blogs, or we're both scrolling down the MoFo blog roll and leaving comments on the blogs we like! Either way, it makes me laugh.

veronica said...

Wow, Mo, these look awesome! I have wanted to try both Kale Chips and green smoothies recently, and look at you! You went and did both. So do you just stick that kale in the blender and it gets all smoothie like? For some reason I feel scared of putting leafy greens in the blender. I should probably get over that. Yummers!

Unknown said...

Those chips look WONDERFUL! You've inspired me to try myself I'm so excited ^_^

Jen said...

can you believe i have yet to make kale chips? probably because i'm too gosh darned impatient. i like mine steamed ever so slightly.

i also have love for ms. kittee, especially when it comes to calling peeps tittie babies.

Anonymous said...

This post just gave me kale chip envy. Must put these on my "to make" list.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

Veronica-Green smoothies are super easy. I'm not sure what the ratio for fruit to greens is supposed to be. I usually throw in sweet fruits (banana, pears, dates) and then take a handful or two of whatever leafy green in my fridge. I am a major fan of kale because it's not as overpowering as some...like collards. And I have a rinky dink blender so I just set it to food processor for a bit and then crank it up to high.

Ty (aka Meccabell) said...

Great entry, I smiled and giggled as I read. And though I have never eaten a kale chip, now I am dying to try them and I have KALE IN MY VEGGIE DRAWER, I am going to try my best to try it tomorrow. Awesome blogging!

River said...

Yay for kale chips! The first time I made them they were a little overcooked and totally bitter. Yuck! I learned from my mistakes though!

I will never forget Kittee's post about xantham gum being the devil - it scared me from every going anywhere near it!

Video! Video! Video! Video! :D

Jenny said...

Ooo, I'm so happy for you that you got to join in on the kale chip goodness. Funny - my mom always calls people titty babies, too. I always thought that was normal, but now I realize that it must be rather uncommon. :)

KitteeBee said...

thanks, mo! i basically ate an entire bunch of kale today, in kale chip form. we made some yesterday using roasted hazelnuts and uh mah gah they were good.

xo
kittee

MeShell said...

I've always wanted to make kale chips, but I always thought a dehydrator was necessary. Maybe a toaster oven set on low would be good enough too...

I <3 Kale so much.

Looking forward to a video!!!

I'Asha said...

Your chips are beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Wow, those kale chips look good. I tried making kale chips once. I burnt them to a crisp. That line between done and overdone kale is razor thin!

Good luck with your other writing endeavors!

VeganKitchenDiaries said...

Spooky coincidence: I also had kale chips for the first time today! A member of the University Vegan Society dropped them off to me at work and then hurried off... like vegan santa.

Seglare said...

Great looking kale chips! It's been much too long since I made any myself.

Did your dogs actually eat the smoothie, once they discovered what was on the floor? I think green smoothie is one of the (very few) things my food-loving and always hungry Labrador would have turned his nose up to. ;)

BrusselsSprout_Katharine said...

Hi Mo, thanks for commenting on my blog, hope you get some rest soon. Rest brings inspiration.

jessy said...

oh man, i have totally had that happen with our blender before - that's crazy, but i'm glad the dogs got a tasty 'n healthy treat! kale = the awesome, and xantham gum = the devil (i'm also with kittee on this one). i too drool over other people's kale chips and my lazy ass needs to get in gear and make some. dan even treated me to a dehydrator for my birthday a few years back - i have no excuse. damn, your kale chips look amazing!

Epicurean Vegan said...

Love kale, love cheeze, love cheezy kale chips, gonna have to try! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Have some kale with your kale, why don't you!

aryn said...

Aren't kale chips AWESOME? Love love love them! Kittee's recipe rocks too!

Sarah S. said...

Mad kale chip love <3
I am new to Kittee AND you, oh how I love MoFo!!

Anonymous said...

Ooh, those look so yummy! I will have to give them a try. I've made kale chips once before and they were okay, not I think the recipe I used called for too much oil because they were greasy. Those look great!

dreaminitvegan said...

Great work with the kale chips. The problem I have is I can't stop eating them when I make them.

Anonymous said...

Those Kale chips look perfect!

Amey said...

yes! kale chips are sooooo good. I don't make them often, but even my Kale-Hater of a boyfriend loves them! FOR REALS.
:)

Luciana said...

Kale chips! I wish I had some right now.

Amanda J said...

Ooh la la! Those look fab!

Kale chips helped me kick my potato chip addiction, FYI.

foodfeud said...

That is quite a green meal! I only made kale chips once and totally burned them. I'm always jealous of how well other people's come out.