The Book of Kale: The Easy-to-Grow Superfood, 80+ Recipes

by Sharon Hanna

Kale--one of the most nutrient-dense greens in existence--has been growing for thousands of years without any fuss. Yet, despite the fact that kale is lauded as a miracle food, and most people know that they should be eating it, many don't know how to make it taste good. Here, kale-evangelist Sharon Hanna provides more than eighty simple but superb recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Dishes ranging from Kale Chips to Kale and Potato Torta or Scalloped Kale with Browned Butter & Sage will blow kale skeptics out of the kitchen. This garden-to-kitchen guide gives readers all they need to know to grow this super-sustainable crop organically--as edible landscaping, on balconies and boulevards and even indoors. And, aspiring locavores take note--purple, silvery-green, frilly, stately Tuscan and rainbow-hued kale can all be grown year-round throughout North America, helping families save hundreds of dollars a year on grocery bills. Best of all, learn how to teach kids to love kale--both growing and eating it--with inspiration derived from this author's many years as an award-winning coordinator of an inner-city school garden program.


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Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Gardening

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2012

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love kale! For kale lovers, a must read! Having said that, a read is all you need, most recipes just make sense. yum!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping this would have had a bit more about growing kale and fewer recipes. It's about 75% a cookbook.

[Laranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative from the growing to using stages of kale. Lots of yummy looking recipes!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I too have jumped on the kale bandwagon. As I have said before, I don't eat as healthily as I should, so I like to find some foods that I know are good for me. I recently discovered how awesome kale is and have been contemplating planting it. This book is great for finding out all the nutritional and gardening info for the super green veggie. Turns out you can pretty much use it the same as lettuce or cabbage. It can be used in soups, salads, pasta, side dishes, or as part of a main dish. Some of the recipes I'd like to try include Scalloped Kale with Browned Butter and Sage, Garlicky Kale and Asian Greens with Chicken, Tuscan Kale with White Beans and Roasted Garlic, and Fermented Kale with Ginger and Miso. Highly recommended, 4 stars.

[Meredith Tummeti · Rating 3 out of 5]

seemed like most of the recipes were just spinach recipes where kale was substituted, or something where kale was just added in to something. It seemed like something that would be intuitive to me, but I could see where this cookbook could be valuable to someone. My friend and I made the squash, kale and cheese scones and while they were moist, the recipe definitely needed more salt to bring out the flavors and less liquids because we ended up making drop biscuits instead of the pictured triangles because the dough was more of a batter. They could have benefited from a bit of diced ham mixed in too.

[False · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part of the book that discusses the varied types of kale, it's importance as a superfood, and gardening methods (aimed particularly as a hobby for children.) It's the recipes that fail me. They seem untested, overly simple and not very appealing.

[September Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite cookbooks. Kale is so easy to grow and to prepare. It is goof proof. My go to is to massage the leaves, chiffonade them and then use them as a salad. Cooking kale is also delicious an so nutritious.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. Mostly recipes and basic info about growing. All fine but I was hoping for a more in depth treatment of how to grow kale. Totally fine for the home gardener and cook.

[Shaineinok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for home gardening. Learned some good growing tips and it had quite a few recipes that caught my eye too.




Love that it was available at the library!

[Trace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a Canadian - which is always a bonus...
Learned a lot about growing kale, even during the winter months.... and lots of yummy recipes to try.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kale bombs. Great idea.

[Rollene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to plant kale in the garden! I never realized how beneficial it is for your health.