The topic of the month for May is the vegetable variety, Red Russian Kale. My little kale plants are still small but are beginning to grow quite quickly now. They are starting to look very pretty.The picture to the left was just taken yesterday, and shows what my Red Russian Kale looks like right now. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I will have some available for the first market of the year, and as of now it looks like I should.
Red Russian Kale is an old Heirloom kale. This kale is just as tasty as it is beautiful. It is good either steamed, sauté, stir fried, roasted, boiled, used in soup or in a salad, and can even be frozen.
I should have Red Russian Kale available for most of the season. During the summer I plan to use it for my salad mixes and stir fry mix of greens. Unlike most lettuces, kale can tolerate the heat much better.
Cooking
Once again as mentioned above kale can be prepared many different ways such as steamed, sauté, stir fried, roasted, boiled, used in soup or in a salad. Baby kale can make a very good addition to salads, and mature leaves are a great addition to many of your favorite meals.
Here is a link to what sounds like a very good recipe that I will have to try as soon as my kale is large enough to begin picking. Red Russian Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares
Health Benefits
Kale is low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol, and also contains phytonutrients that can help to prevent cancer.
It is a very good source of:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin K
- Calcium
- Potassium
- Dietary Fiber
- Protein
- Iron
- Manganese
Below are some links to some good websites that explain the health benefits of Red Russian Kale.
Link to Nutritiondata.com for kale, raw
Link to Nutritiondata.com for kale, cooked
*Just in case anyone has birds, I thought I would mention that they love kale too. Small birds such as parakeets, canaries and cockatiels are especially fond of kale. Best of all it is very good for them also.
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