Kale Crisps

When I first heard of Kale Crisps, about a year ago, I was, naturally, intrigued.  I had never experimented with dark greens at that point in my life, let alone eaten them so it took me a while to get myself to try them, but when I finally did, there was no turning back.  They have the texture of a super thin potato chip minus the oily finger tips. I also love that I can add any flavours that I am craving at the time.  They make a perfect afternoon snack (made even more perfect with a glass of cold beer) or even as a side dish to go with a sandwich or wrap.  I think the best part of these, is the amount of ease it takes to make them.  Just tear the leaves from the stem, add some seasonings, and leave in a hot oven until crisp.  While I don't believe in 'guilty' pleasures, I do believe in eating good food, and this fits the bill perfectly.

There isn't much of an ingredient list here, save for the kale.  I use curly leaf kale when I make this, as I like that the curled leaves hold on to the seasonings really well.  As I said before, tear the leaves away from the stems (tossing the stems unless you know of something else fabulous to do with them) and lay them on a cookie sheet that has been lined with either a SilPat or a sheet of foil.  Drizzle or spray with oil and season as simply or as boldly as you prefer.  Leave this in a 420 oven for 8-10 minutes (depending on size) and repeat until you have made enough to satisfy yourself.

Some of the flavourings that I prefer are:

salt

nutritional yeast

dried oregano

chili powder

garlic salt/powder

chili flakes

cayenne pepper

lemon pepper

cumin

curry powder

Obviously, there are plenty more flavours to use on these, but these are what I always have out and always seem to please my palate.  Sometimes I only use two or three and sometimes I use up to five or six different seasonings.  The only thing that I would caution you on is the amount of salt that you use.  I would use slightly less than you think is necessary before baking and taste after they come out of the oven, just to prevent on over salting.

Happy eating!

Saturday afternoon snack

Sometimes on a lazy Saturday afternoon, you just need a little pick me up; nothing to heavy but something that is enough to quiet those nagging pangs of hunger a couple of hours before dinner.  I made this for my mother, with left over bread, but by all means, make this with a fresh slice of whatever bread you like, just so long as it isn't the super market sponge variety. 

1 slice of bread
1/2 roma tomato, diced
2T. chevre
dash of oregano
salt, pepper, olive oil

-Drizzle the bread with a spot of oil and toast in the broiler while you chop your tomato and get out the chevre. 
-Combine all of the ingredients, the salt and pepper to taste, and mound on to the slice of now toasted bread and drizzle with just a touch more olive oil.
-Slide under the broiler and let the chevre take on a bit of golden colour and remove.  I wouldn't let this cool down too much, but tomatoes are known to be acidic and thus, retain heat for longer than you might expect. 

I did try slicing this, but it wasn't at all very pretty, and I think that it made it even more difficult to eat.  I wouldn't go pulling out a knife and fork or anything, nor would I wear my favourite white shirt when eating this, just as a precaution.