This name, “The Kale Lady,” is sticking around for soon. Not only do I provide large quantities to my family and friends, but I also require anyone who visits our garden to consume a portion of it, particularly if they have never tried it before, and even more so if they attempt to convince me that they do not think it is tasty.
I enjoy using it in the kitchen and make it a point to include it in as many different meals as I can, much to Karl’s dismay. I take immense pleasure in cultivating it, plucking it, and… And even just looking at its vivid colors brings me a tremendous deal of happiness!
Last year’s Kale Patch was larger than it had ever been before. In addition, although we frequently harvest kale from the snow in order to consume it during the winter months, I prefer to save part of it when it is at its most fresh and when it is at its best. Infinite applications can be found for these frozen kale pucks. In addition, dehydration is an excellent choice… This is the recipe for making kale flakes!
My favorite variety of kale has just shifted to scarlet kale. It’s the gorgeous purple-colored type that you can see in my picture as well. It has a flavor that is more similar to broccoli than any of the other types that I have produced. It is soft, light, and sweet. Among my other two main kale varieties is Dinosaur Kale, which derives its name from the fact that its skin resembles that of a reptile.
While this kind is a little more difficult to work with, I absolutely adore the color, and it is my go-to choice for making kale chips. Blue Scotch Curled Kale is a stunning plant that yields leaves that are sensitive, vividly green, and highly curled. These leaves can be used for a variety of purposes.
The Kale Freezing Process
The quantity is entirely up to you. When I use a silicon muffin pan with a capacity of 12 cups, which is highly recommended, I am able to fit approximately 2.5 to 3 cups of raw kale pieces into each muffin cup… To ensure that the muffin pan is completely full, I aim to use approximately 36 cups of kale pieces. Absolutely, that is a lot! But when they are raw, they have a lot of volume, and when they are cooked, they lose quite a deal of their volume. It is possible to reduce the amount of batter that is placed in each muffin cup.
- Kale should be gathered, a kettle of water should be brought to a boil with a steamer attachment, and a silicon muffin pan and tongs should be prepared.
- Raw kale should only be added to the steamer insert until it is slightly more than half filled. Put the cover on, and you should let it steam for one minute.
- To slide the top layer of the kale towards the bottom, use the tongs to give it a thorough shake and stir it around. Give it one more minute of steaming.
- Rejoice once more, and continue to steam for one more minute… Therefore, the total amount of time spent steaming is around three minutes.
- Take the kale out of the steamer and place it in a holding basin before beginning the next batch.
- After the kale has been steamed, spoon it into the muffin cups and push it down with your fingers (in a fairly firm manner). Despite the fact that you may believe you are unable to add any more kale to each cup, continue to add more. One of those little cups has the capacity to hold quite a deal of information. Due to the fact that it is simpler to smash while it is hotter, you should work pretty quickly.
- Keep the kale pucks in a freezer bag with a zip-top once they have been frozen for more than twelve hours. It is really simple to do this thanks to the silicon muffin pan… It is an excellent investment for homesteading, and it costs less than ten dollars. Freeze portions of applesauce, broth and stock pucks, and anything else you can think of!
When you want to utilize your frozen kale pucks, you can either thaw them in a colander just like you would with frozen spinach, or you can simply add one or two of them directly into a pot of soup or stew. After it has thawed, you may use it to sauté in butter or bacon oil, add it to tomato sauces and cream sauces, mix it into eggs, or use it in my beef and kale stroganovich.