Kale!

From what I've heard, kale is a cool-weather vegetable.  I was thinking I'd be able to grow some in the spring and a second batch in the fall.  I planted it from seed at the end of March, but nothing happened. No kale. I tried again a few weeks later: still nothing.

At the beginning of August, I'd given up on some other things I'd allocated space to that weren't succeeding either (thanks a lot, cucumbers), so I used that section of the garden to give the kale one last shot. Finally, they've germinated.

To celebrate, here's a salad I made a few weeks ago, using grocery store kale (BOR-ing, but what can you do?).  Hopefully it'll be in the rotation again before the end of the summer, if the stuff in the garden can keep from being eaten by bugs and woodland creatures.

Sweet Potato Kale Salad

Big bowl full of kale, washed and torn into pieces
Sweet potato, peeled and chopped
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Lemon juice
Garlic, 2-4 cloves, minced
Chives, to taste, minced
Feta

Roast the sweet potatoes, tossed with olive oil and kosher salt, in a baking pan at 400F until they're soft in the middle and browned on the edges.  I think I stirred them around at about 15 minutes, and they may have needed another 10, but it depends on how small the pieces are chopped. 

Add the chives, garlic, feta, a splash of lemon juice, and a splash of olive oil to the big bowl full of kale. Plop the sweet potatoes, piping hot and right out of the oven, on top of everything else and toss.

That's it!  Enjoy!