Have you ever seen something in the store and it was so beautiful that you had to have it? You knew when you saw it that it would be coming home with you?  For most women that might be a pair of heels or a handbag…but for me, it’s generally produce.  I have a problem.  If I see produce that is colorful, fresh, and delightfully in season, it beckons me.  I think it’s genetic. I blame my father.  He once bought out the entire Rhubarb supply of Seattle (no really, Pike’s Place market was cleaned out!) and then drove it to my house (14 hours away) barely saying his ‘hello’s’ before inquiring whether I had a pot large enough to hold it all.  I’m in no place to judge. Andy actually reorganized our refrigerator recently and, as he gave me a tour of how he had “correctly” (undoing all MY systems!) organized things, he pointed out the area set aside “for whatever produce you have over-purchased for the week.” It should be noted, before you read any farther, that my husband considers himself to be fairly hilarious.  Most of the time, I agree.

Last week I was making my way through Harmon’s when I saw it:  Red Kale.  It was green and leafy with deep purple running through it. It was a thing of beauty. I’ve never bought kale before but I remembered seeing a recipe for kale chips months ago and decided, since this kale was SO PRETTY, that this was the opportune time to try it out. I just KNEW everyone in my family would be as excited as about it as I was!

“I’m making KALE CHIPS!” I pronounced triumphantly when Andy got home from work.  He looked at me very calmly, slowly stuck his tongue out of his mouth, and pinched it between his thumb and index finger. “Thish ish me holding my tongue.” Andy’s a pretty good sport and eats just about anything.  I wasn’t worried. Skeptical though he may be, he would take one bite and be blown away. I was sure of it.  How could he not be?  The Kale was so pretty!  Don’t you agree? Here it is ready to go in the oven:

 When dinner was served we had a family conversation that went like this:

Trinity (holding up a kale chip): “What is this?”

Me: “It’s a Kale Chip!  It’s like potato chips, but with kale.”

Andy: “Answer: Yesterday! Question: When does mommy think we were born?”

Me: Daddy thinks he’s pretty funny.

Trinity (giving me a deadpan look): “He’s not actually funny at all.“

Now that made me laugh!

So what was the verdict?  They were pretty good!  I would make them again.  They are crispy and salty, and kind of melt in your mouth.  Andy described them as tasting “earthy,” and he did, almost begrudgingly, admit that he liked them. Though I don’t think he’ll request them for his birthday. Here’s the recipe, if you could call it that.  It’s so easy! It’s a fun way to get veggies into your kiddos and it’s pretty enough to put on a tray for a party.

Kale Chips

• 1 bunch kale
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse and dry kale leaves. Cut the leaves from the stems and tear into bite size pieces.  Place on a baking tray.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the leaves are crispy.  Enjoy!