A few weeks ago I was giving a Stone Soup Lesson at N. Winneshiek where we were using all the left over vegetables from the final harvest of our school garden to make a huge “Stone Soup” for national Food Day. The kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade classes all helped to make the soup and read the story in advance. Students were chopping carrots, potatoes, parsley, onions and thrashing beans.
For one of the activities I asked the kids if they had ever massaged kale before. Several eyebrows raised with a look of confusion, “massage kale?” they asked. I had just learned about massaging kale myself this past summer at a camp I was working at and was eager to share this food trick with the kids.
How to:
Wash Hands
Get a large bowl
Rip kale from stems into salad size pieces and put into bowl
Add a bit of salt or olive oil
Massage with both hands for about 5 minutes
You will notice that the kale’s color will change from a bright green to a dark green, it’s texture will change from rough to smooth and it’s taste will change from bitter to more sweet.
This past weekend when I was in Milwaukee having a friend Thanksgiving celebration of my own I decided to make a kale salad. I asked which of my friends had heard of messaging kale before. I got the same confused but intrigued looks from my friends as I did from the 1st, 2nd, and 4th graders. In the kitchen I gave a pretty similar lesson as we all practiced messaging kale proving to be a fun learning experience for all ages! Make sure to try out this food trick this holiday season.
I LOVE massaged kale salad. I add dried craisins to it and call it my Christmas salad because it looks like a wreath in a bowl!
Great post. I love this tip! I’m going to try it. I like Teresa’s idea of adding the craisins….