Kale

The popularity of kale as a cancer-fighting vegetable made me decide to plant some. I started with seeds and the variety is called “Toscano”. It is a plain-leaf type. Some kales have curly leaves. Some are called ornamental kales because of their different colors and mostly used as decorative plant in the garden. I have seen these plants when we were in Japan and they used ornamental kales in landscape designs everywhere, parks, etc. I observed these during the winter months. Kale grows better when the temperature is cool just like cabbage and broccoli. They all belong to the same family of Brassicas.

As you can see, the kale is growing as expected and I can’t wait to gather and try it in some recipes. They say you can blend it with apple juice for a very nutritious drink. Steaming is also the best way to cook it to retain most of the valuable vitamins and minerals. In Japan, they have a drink called “Aujiro” and is made of kale juice. Almost all the vitamins and minerals are present in these leafy greens so you can’t go wrong adding them in your vegetable garden.

Similar Posts

  • Sweet Potato Leaves

    Sweet potato leaves are considered as an everyday food in the Philippines. It is served steamed and teamed with a dipping sauce we call fish bagoong. You can also use it as a substitute for “un choi” or “kangkong” in making “sinigang” which is a sour soup. I have this sweet potato planted in my…

  • Long Beans/Sitaw

    Long beans or sitaw as we call them is in the member of the family of legume except they are eaten as green pods unlike other beans like navy beans or azuki beans. They are also called yard long beans or asparagus beans. I remember eating these beans cooked as adobo. It taste good and…

  • Pumpkin/Kalabasa

    This is the pumpkin now after I helped it to be pollinated (notice I have also long beans in the same trellis). Two weeks after I hand-pollinated the female pumpkin flower, it has grown and almost ready to be picked. That’s one of the things that keep me going when it comes to gardening. Patience…

  • Swiss Chard

    I have been gathering Swiss Chard in my garden for months now and it seems endless. I love Swiss chard. You can use them in salads when young and saute’ or stir fry those big leaves. The one variety I have is called Bright Lights because of the different colors of the stem. The leaves…