Tangy Kale Salad

  Move over pomegranate, Kale is the superfood de jour.  This leafy green has a crisp nutty taste that lends itself well to stews, stir-fries, and salads. Kale is ripe with antioxidants and is high in vitamins K, C, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and calcium.  The best part about Kale, besides it's long list of body-do-good stuff, is that it is pretty tasty.

  Usually when a waiter points to the "Salad" section of the menu in response to my vegetarian requests, I have to fight back an eye-roll. But with this salad recipe, the only eye-rolling you'll be doing is in pure delight.

Here’s what you need:

• 1.One large head of Kale (rinsed well, ribs removed, and torn into salad sized pieces)
• ¼ cup of Lemon Juice or the Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tbsps. of a good extra virgin olive oil.
• 3 cloves of mashed garlic 
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup of grated Asiago or Parmesan Cheese (for a vegan version add 2 tbsp of nutritional Yeast at step # 2)
• ½ cup bread crumbs (crushed croutons also work nicely)

Here's what you gotta do:

1. Mix together the lemon juice, oil, garlic, red pepper, salt and pepper.
2. Pour this mixture over the kale in a large bowl. Add half of the cheese and mix well.
3. Let the greens sit for 5 minutes. (this allows the lemon juice & oil time to soften the kale)
4.  Add the remaining cheese and bread crumbs.
5. Toss and Enjoy!

This salad is flavorful "as is", but here are some things you can toss in when your feeling frisky:

• Small marinated mushrooms
• Sliced red or yellow bell peppers
• Tomato slices
• Black olives

                                                         Life is Delicious...Go taste it!