Simple Kale Salad

It's about time I got in on the kale bandwagon. Or, rather, it's about time I posted something kale-y.

Seriously, I love kale, raw or cooked, in everything. In this case, it's raw, in a very tasty salad, and the other ingredients aim to enhance rather than cover up the greens.

 This salad is similar to those I've sampled from Mother's Markets (I can get happily lost in one of those), but tangier.  And unlike theirs, this has fresh grapes, not raisins, and (the best part) it doesn't cost $9+ a pound.

Those grapes were unfortunately conventional, so I rinsed them four times in warm water, until the water was no longer cloudy, to remove as much chemical residue as possible.  They tasted much better for it.





The key to a good raw kale salad? Don't ask me, but making sure the leaves are torn in small, bite-size pieces really makes a difference. This is the only time-consuming part of the recipe. To make

Simple Kale Salad:

Tear 2 large leaves of kale into quite-small pieces

Top them with 2 Tablespoons avocado oil and

the juice of half a lemon; toss to coat. Add

one handful red grapes, sliced in half (around one cup of halves). Toss again to combine.

Top with 1/3 cup salted, roasted sunflower seeds and lots of 

lemon pepper & salt. 

Toss once more & serve!

Best eaten the day it's made, the salad will keep a day or two in the fridge,

but it will not look as vibrant as it could.  

Hibiscus Flower Tea

It's easy to see why the edible hibiscus is sometimes referred to as roselle.

Tart and tangy, with the most beautiful, deep, rosy hue... it makes a delicious and quenching tea.



To make hibiscus tea, measure one tablespoon of dried hibiscus flowers for every cup of water. To make sun tea, place water and roselles into a clear jar with a lid. Place in a sunny spot to steep for a few hours, until color has deepened.  Another way to brew the tea is to heat water and roselles mixed to a boil, and let cool.  Either way you brew, drink the tea hot or cold, but do store in fridge overnight to develop a more robust flavor. I prefer cold/room temp and unsweetened.
I am in agreement with Fany Gerson, of the lovely Paletas: steeping overnight does seem to extract more flavor from the dried buds. If steeping overnight, leave dried buds and then strain when ready to drink.