Christmas Kale

This Fall, rather than pulling my kale out when it started to get cold, I decided to let nature take its course. I figured that soon enough, the kale would slowly freeze to death. A death by degrees. I would take no heroic measures to keep it alive. Instead, four days from Christmas Day, the kale is still kicking. All on its own.

We have had a very warm Fall but the temps have dropped below freezing numerous times where frost was on the leaves in the morning. I had consulted a farmer friend of mine and he advised that kale can survive frosts. It dies when the thermometer gets in the mid-20's. Heck, I am feeling that I should wrap some Christmas lights around these sulfuric evergreens.

I started growing kale about ten years ago around the time it was trending. But, I am not one of those foodie types that will pay 12 dollars for a plated dish of two sliced organic tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Instead, I will spend two dollars and buy a plant. Kale grows well, is obviously hearty, and is quite nutritious. It is the key ingredient in my drink below called E-8. Any resemblance to V-8 is entirely coincidental.

If it looks gross, well you are of right. It is gross. But, it is healthy and contains a proprietary combo of 8 ingredients. I can chug glass of it in seconds whereas eating it would take several minutes.

Several weeks ago, a friend mentioned on Facebook when I dissed kale's flavor, that I should make some kale chips. I poo-pooed that.  That sounded like one of those subterfuge schemes to get kids to eat their veggies. But, then I saw a recipe online and I had a crap load of kale to get rid of...I already have a couple of gallons on E-8 in the fridges. Yes, I am even using my beer fridge to house my E-8 and that is prime real estate. Beer gentrification. I add vinegar to the E-8 to keep the stuff from composting in my fridge and breeding bad bacteria.

I have to say that the kale chips were fantastic. While not exactly Kettle Cooked in Lard Potato Chips, the kale was a light and had lost its chewy and spiny texture. I drizzled olive oil on the kale and sprinkled chili pepper, salt, and garlic on them.

You have to keep an eye on them because there is a fine line between cooking them and lighting them on fire like autumn leaves. 275 degrees for about 15 minutes on steel pans. 

The kale's resiliency in cold gives me hope. I am 52, on the supposed downhill side of life. My best years behind me according to the American worship of youth--and some serious crashes that broke psychic bones to boot back there, too. Satan has chased me like the dog he is, barking that I am a failure, a hypocrite, and a poor excuse of a Christian. Yet, I am still growing in the cold of plus 50. Experiencing the knock-down, drag-out, teeth-kicked-in events of life ain't something I need more of in my soul. I have enough deposits of such to draw on until the day I die. I suspect that this smooth part that I am in right now just may be life reloading its ammo.  

Yet, until God takes me out of this world's ground, I am going to keep growing by looking on Him who died that I might live.