What is Kale? How do I cook it?

Kale

The beautiful leaves of the kale plant provide an earthy flavor and more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food around. Although it can be found in markets throughout the year, it is in season from the middle of winter through the beginning of spring when it has a sweeter taste and is more widely available.

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family, a group of vegetables including cabbage, collards and Brussels sprouts that have gained recent widespread attention due to their health promoting, sulfur-containing phytonutrients. It is easy to grow and can grow in colder temperatures where a light frost will produce especially sweet kale leaves.

Source: www.whfoods.org

How to cook it? I love this recipe, and you can be "very generous" with Kale. It seems no matter how much we put in our soup, it's never enough for me. A similar soup is available at Olive Garden, and this recipe is from allrecipes.com with five stars from 152 reviews.

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage
• 2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 cups kale - washed, dried, and shredded
• 2 tablespoons chicken soup base
• 1 quart water
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Cut links in half lengthwise, then cut at an angle into 1/2-inch slices.
3. Place onions and bacon slices in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside.
4. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken soup base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.
5. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.