My Verdant Kale

This is a shout-out to one Oregonian thriver.

I sauteed some kale tonight for dinner. Little olive oil, garlic, Sriracha, and kale. As I tossed the kale around in the wok I thought about my introduction to it when I waitressed one summer in college at a chain restaurant where it was served steamed. It is quite bitter and in my eyes quite gross prepared this way. A few years later on one of my many grocery shopping excursions I decided to give it another try. I figured put in the hands of a wonderful, experienced cook like my mom maybe I would see it in a different way. Sure enough mom sauteed it with garlic, olive oil, and some soy sauce (I now use sea salt) and I fell in love with it.

I'm writing about kale as Day 1 of my weekly homework assignment about color. As I watched it cook I thought about how it was dark green, but with an ashy white color on the back of its leaves...but when sauteed the green lifts and turns from a dark forest green...so dark I forget at times it is a shade of green to a bright, more definite green, closer to the middle of the color wheel green. I'm feeling a corny metaphor coming on here. As the kale succumbs to the heat and wilts, giving up its former structure through its metamorphosis we experience its vibrancy and tastiness. I'm sure there is a lesson to be learned here about self-esteem and transformation. And that is the end of this episode of Reading Rainbow kids. Cue the NBC Star and the words "The More You Know".....

I'm such a smart ass sometimes :)