#HideTheKale

[Robin Garr]

Fooling around with kale pesto again. Kale from the garden instead of basil; pecans in place of pine nuts; plenty of garlic, lots of olive oil and Grana Padano cheese. Tastes great! #HideTheKale

[Jenise]

Looks really good; though of course, one doesn't need to hide the kale to get me to eat it!

[Robin Garr]

Looks really good; though of course, one doesn't need to hide the kale to get me to eat it!

There's a little back story there. Mary grew up eating all manner of greens. The only one we ever had was spinach. It took her a long time to get used to even collards or kale. They taste weird to me, and chewy. I know they're good for me, so I'm always looking for ways to use them as ingredients but "hide" them among the other instruments of the culinary symphony. Puree, fine-chop and chiffonade are all options. Anything to get rid of that "papery" texture.

All my adult life I avoided kale. I remember as a child that I hated kale. Truth is I just hated the way my family prepared this veggie. I reluctantly agreed to grow a small patch of kale in the garden this year. Love the stuff raw, sauteed, steamed, whatever. Have even frozen a few 1lb packages for consumption this winter. Can't get enough of it and don't need to dress it up in camo.

I really like kale, in every way I've ever had it. Trying to grow it in my garden this summer, but the insects seem to love it even better. Planning to sow seeds again in a week or so. I have much better luck with them in the fall. Going to definitely try this pesto idea. Yum!