Crispy Crunchy Healthy Kale Chips!

My husband has a thing. That is, he can’t start a movie without the ‘hand to mouth’ action that usually incorporates buttery popcorn or salty nuts. Now instead of the usual horrid microwave popcorn I decided to surprise him by serving him Kale while we were cozied up on the couch watching True Lies (for the billionth time)

‘Kale?’ he smirked, ‘um no thank you’. He made way for the kitchen and proceeded to make his usual popcorn, the smell of chemical butter waiving through the house. ‘Suit Yourself’ I thought as I took the plate of Kale chips all to myself.

He came back to the couch and naturally curiosity got the better of him. ‘Ok, maybe just one’ he said as he shoved my gorgeous crispy and healthy chips into his gob. Then another one, then another one and then my plate was gonski.

The good news is that there was more Kale in the fridge, the oven was still hot and these take under 2 minutes to make. The popcorn was put aside and we watched Schwarzenegger and Curtis in there comedy spy shenanigans munching on delicious Kale chips content.

Kale Chips

• 1 large bunch of kale
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Pepper

 It can’t get easier than this; preheat your oven to 230C

wash and pat dry your Kale leaves

cut them up into 2cm squares

sprinkle them with Olive Oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine evenly.

Spread them out onto a baking tray and bake in oven for one minute. Take them out, shake them about roughly and bake for a further minute.

Done!

Kale done this way is a great way of getting green leaves into your children and toddlers too. My daughter absolutely loves munching on them, crisping them up and making a big green mess!

Advertisement

In My Kitchen April 2013

I’ve been reading food blogs for some time now and one of my favourite blogs is by Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Every month she hosts a ‘Whats in my kitchen’ and its usually the post I look forward to the most. It’s pretty much a nice sticky beak into other foodies kitchens and reminds me of going to open house inspections when house hunting.
So here is what’s in MY kitchen, sit back and enjoy the view.

 

papier d’armenie

Papier d’armenie is a unique natural air deodoriser sold as a booklet of twelve sheets of paper, each cut into three strips. I bought 2 booklets (4 euros each) of papier d’armenie on my trip to France in 2009 and I still have quite a bit left. I was so excited to see something Armenian that I bought it without knowing what it was!

The paper is made of benzoin resin, the dried sap of styrax trees and the smell reminds me of being in Church when they light benzoin resin incense during prayer.

I fold the strip accordion style and burn it when I’ve been cooking something potent in the kitchen, like pan-fried fish or meat and need a quick air refresher to lift the greasy smell hovering over my cook stove. It releases the most beautiful aroma that lingers on for hours

Papier d’armenie strip burning

What else is in my kitchen?

Baby Green Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I bought this bottle from my local Frenchs Forest farmers markets and it only cost $15 for this 750ml bottle of first pressed Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil using Corregiolo and Manzanillo olives from Wagga Wagga. It is stamped ‘pressed 6th March 2013’ and sure enough it tastes exactly like what a fresh first pressed olive oil should taste like – fruity sour!

The bottle claims to have twice the antioxidants of regular Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Either way, it tastes great.and I love drizzling it over ripe tomatoes with the tiniest sprinkle of pink sea salt.

What’s in my kitchen?

Garlic! And lots of it

Another great bargain from my local farmers markets. $10 for this huge lovely bunch of Australian locally grown garlic. While its hard to see in the picture, there are 23 huge bulbs here. These beauties hang over my kitchen sink and I can’t get enough of it!

The farmer who sold me this bunch told me it would keep well and that I wouldn’t need to buy more garlic all year. I laughed and invited him over for dinner. He’d soon realise that it would last a month in my kitchen, tops. I add garlic to everything and can easily go through a bulb a day. Even my 19 month old daughter has become accustomed to the taste of raw garlic.

What else is in my kitchen?

Shallots growing on my window sill

I bought some shallots for my Shanklish recipe last week and decided to experiment with the roots by placing it into a jar of water and leaving it on my window sill. Sure enough, only 2 days later it has already started to sprout shallots and I hope to be able to transplant it into my veggie patch once it gets more established.

So there’s a snapshot of what’s in my kitchen! Hope you enjoyed the sticky beak!