Reub's journey

22 January 2014

Kale

Sometimes you get a talkative check-out person at the local grocery store; it's one of the things I like about it. But this guy had just said something surprising:

Him: You feedin' turtles?
Me: What?
Him: The only people who buy kale are feeding turtles, far as I know.
Me: Oh...the kale...no I thought I'd--you know--eat it? In some soup, with white beans. I heard it has a lot of vitamins.
Him: Yeah. It's loaded with lutein, great for turtles.
Me: Uh huh. Well, what's good for turtles is good for me, maybe?
Him: You should get a turtle.



The above conversation took place 10 years ago. Since then kale has become a Food Super Star. It's been touted as a cancer-fighting, Alzheimers-avoiding, anti-oxidant, vitamin-loaded rock star. I have a friend who is a world class distance runner, and every morning she makes herself a kale smoothie. On Saturday I attended a grad student potluck and fully 20% of the food there was some form of kale salad. I happen to enjoy kale salad, but in large quantities? Gee whiz it makes me crave spaghetti and meatballs.

JUST when kale reached its peak, though, it got its come-uppance. It can be too much of a good thing, and my friend needs to stop overdosing on this veggie pronto. No longer the perfect food, it's kind of the Lance Armstrong of veggies: the too-good-to-be-true-hero. I feel like I've been through this before: the cranberry scare, the spinach scare, the grape scare. Eventually we eat these things again in moderation.



The grad students who brought all of that kale to dinner? They also produced cupcakes decorated with fondant fir needles, sugar acorns, and an edible squirrel. Eating these things undoubtedly cancels out any of the effects of the kale; I'm sure of it. Have a squirrel, go ahead.




30 comments:

  1. what a group you hang with! me, i'd get a turtle. :)

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    1. Nothing like hanging out with 20-somethings.

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  2. I've long denied the existence of kale or anything green, but since my food thing has changed so radically, I've tentatively been branching out. Kale might be okay. Maybe. We'll see. :)

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    1. Kale chips are pretty good. And kale salad, done right, is great. Harder to deal with than lettuce, though.

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  3. That conversation had me laughing. "You should get a turtle." So if I eat kale then I can have the cupcakes right?

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    1. That's right! It is a simple math equation:

      1/2 pound of kale=1/2 pound of cupcakes

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  4. Kale is awesome. My mom makes it often and we like it. :) So you have my support! :)

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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    1. I've only recently started eating it raw, and I do like it. Does your mother cook it?

      Some American foodie living in France is trying to get the French to add it to their cuisine, but that has been an uphill battle.

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  5. Kerry, you are the only person who would remember a conversation with a check out clerk from ten years ago! However I guess it is one that would stand out. I wonder if you can buy canned Kale? If not, I'm out of luck. I barely know what to do with lettuce.

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    1. If you eat enough kale you're doomed to remembering everything. But then your thyroid starts acting up.

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  6. I want to make some sort of comment about being hale with kale, but cleverness eludes me this morning.

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    1. Come to think of it lots of words rhyme with kale, don't they?

      All hail kale!

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  7. I've never tried kale. My daughter loves the stuff. Cupcakes, fondant, and kale is an interesting assortment indeed!

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    1. Next time you're in Portland you won't be able to avoid it Gail.

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  8. I eat kale and other such noxious vegetables these days. It has left me thinking, "my kingdom for a hamburger."

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    1. I hereby give you permission to eat a hamburger, but just a small one with a big leaf of romaine on top. Don't tell your doctor.

      Seriously, you are beginning to branch out, though, and that's a good sign.

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  9. I just had a kale and white bean alas for dinner - it was yummy. However, I don't eat it every night! My grandkids would rather feed it to a turtle.

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    1. Actually, feeding kale to a turtle does sound like fun:-)

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  10. we're growing kale for the first time. have yet to pick and eat any. but maybe Big Mama will like it this spring when she starts eating again.

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    1. Oh you must offer her some! I want to know how she likes it.

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  11. As soon as I read the conversation with the clerk, I thought of Ellen's Big Mama. I'm embarrassed to say that I've never tried kale. I need to remedy that soon.

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    1. This whole thing is making me wish I had a turtle in my back yard.

      Try a kale salad. The kale has to be softened by squeezing before it makes a chewable salad, but it's quite good.

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  12. Those grad students remind me of Hipster's Thanksgiving. Check it out on YouTube.

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    1. hahaha!! I just watched it: thanks for the referral! "WILDFLOWER!"

      I live pretty close to the epicenter of Hipsterdom: Portland, OR, where hipsters are constantly derided by hipsters. Funny.

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  13. That conversation is hilarious. Kale, my daughter eats it so I have had it when she cooks. But now that she has moved out I don't buy it myself.

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    1. I think it's probably easy to kick the kale habit for many of us:-)

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