Eat Yo Greens!

Didn’t your mother tell you to eat your greens?  Considering it's the day after St. Patty's, I feel it only fitting to use green.  Kale is a great, green veggie.  It happens to be a personal favorite of Madre and myself.  If you ever get a chance to eat at True Foods Kitchen, their kale side dish or kale pizza are my absolute favorites.

After a night on Mill Ave. with the girls, a light and refreshing salad was exactly what I needed!  This chickpea, avacado, & kale salad gives just the ingredients used and a picture, so you can personalize it with how much lettuce to goodie you want.  At first, I was kind of upset because of my structured cooking personality mixed with lack of ingredient amounts.  But, on the upscale I was able to personalize for my particular taste buds.

Some tips for making this salad even better:

1.     Sweat the onions! Raw onions can be strong.  Even with red onions being rather sweeter, they need a little help.  Sweating them allows for that sweetness to rise.  It can also add a hint of warmth to the cool salad.

2.     Make sure not to use the stems of the kale, just the leaves.  If you really don’t care for kale, substitute spinach.

3.     Mix the salad dressing separate from the actual salad.  I used olive oil (1tbsp), fresh basil (1tbsp finely chopped), honey (1½tbsp), & lemon juice (2 tsp).  You mainly need to balance the sweetness (honey) with the acidity (lemon juice).

4.     Make sure not to overpower the dressing with olive oil.

5.     Have the kale on the bottom or else you’ll lose the toppings (chickpeas 

      and such).

6.     You could try the crunchy kale that Brook from Top Chef did on the opening episode.

7.     Also, make sure your avocados are ripe.  With the ripeness and chickpeas, you’ll use less dressing because you already have some creaminess.

Viola! This fresh salad is light and easy to make and personalize.  There is room to add various flavors you might like on salad.  Need a crunch, add walnuts!  Enjoy this yummy goodness as a side dish to steak or salmon or just enjoy as a main dish.  Either way you eat it, you’ll get your greens in.  Madre liked it so much she dove into some of the planned leftovers! J