please help me salvage my kale salad!

[banana shake]

I made the marinated dino kale, but used regular, curly kale instead. It didn't quite turn out to my liking (too tough), but I have a huge bowl of it in the fridge. What can I do with it so I don't have to throw it out?

It has a bit of sliced portabello, red onion, and a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic & red pepper.

I'm not a fan of soups, but am not averse to cracker recipes, especially if someone has a tried & true using the kale (I know there is a well-loved recipe for kale crisps, but I don't think they're made from the curly kind).

Thanks for any help- I hate to throw out food! Jen

[Rawkinlocs]

Actually, my kale chips are the curly kind. Also, if left for a day or two or three, the kale would actually soften up more and won't go bad - you could also put in the dehydrator to help wilt it down even more.

But yeah, if you still don't like it you could dehydrate it for kale chips (you could also add a bit more seasoning if you like) and you could do something else with the mushrooms and onions or even dehydrate those and then either eat alone, cut up in a salad or added to a wrap of some sort.

[banana shake]

thanks, Rawkinlocs, for the quick reply! I looked up the kale chps recipe, and I think my marinated kale is ready to go, but would you recommend me adding some tahini or almond butter to the mix first? Also, what do you think would happen if I were to blend it all with some flax for binder? Or are the kale chips more about the dried kale texture? Thanks again!

[Rawkinlocs]

There are many variations to kale chips. Personally I only use a marinade of olive oil, nama shoyu, a little cayenne, onion and garlic powder and a little agave for a slight sweetness. I've even made them with apple cider vinegar and sea salt (with a little olive oil too) AND, I've done simply olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

So, no, you don't have to add any tahini or almond butter...that was for that particular recipe (the Goddess one's, right?).

Adding flax is not necessary either...the kale alone will dry up to a crunchy, chip-like texture. My kids LOVE them! :) Blending with flax will make kale crackers and that's another possibility. One of our members here, Sweet lips, has been known to turn her left-over marinated greens into crackers by blending them up (I believe with flax) and spreading and dehydrating.

[kiropa]

you can send it to me, that sounds yum!!!!!! i've only ever seen or eaten the curly kind.

i don't have a dehydrator but i am DYING to make the kale chips. i definitely think you should try that.

[banana shake]

I'll be dehydrating as soon as I get home from work- I'll let you know how it turns out! My only concern is that I chopped the kale pretty small, and I'm sure the dehydrating will make it smaller, but I'm not THAT worried! Thanks for the help again, Rawkinlocs!

[Rawkinlocs]

You're welcome and just put it on the teflex rather than the mesh tray and you should be fine.

[fjernsyn]

I noticed that you didn't include salt in your list of ingredients. You may have just forgotten to write it out, but if you really didn't put any salt in the salad, it wouldn't turn out quite right. The salt is what does most of the tenderizing, so a kale salad without it would likely be very tough.

[banana shake]

I actually did have salt- just forgot to list it! Thanks!

[EZ rider]

If all else fails you could push it through the juicer with some carrots for a liquid salad.

[fjernsyn]

OK, just checkin'! Good luck with the kale chips this time and hopefully you'll have more luck with the salad next time around. Lacinato really does work better than curly.