Sept. 4: Kale makes me happy, but you already knew that!

Another kale salad? Why the heck not! My love of kale has been well-documented this summer, and adding yet another salad to the mix just seemed to make sense. Though, truthfully, this post ends up being more about the dressing than the salad... 

Originally the plan was for the kale caesar salad (see the video below). Then I realized I'm not really a fan of anchovies, and wasn't in the mood to buy them just for this salad. Capers aren't something I love love, either. So I took the idea, and the general concept from the recipe that PBS posted (one of their most clicked on recipes in the month of August!) and adapted to suit my tastes.



Pretty funny pup, eating kale, eh? I love this video. It's a very happy salad-making moment. (I put the happy in there just for you, Jen.)

I also had a really great kale salad at a juice/salad place in Seattle earlier this summer, and have been meaning to recreate that combination of flavors all summer. So this salad really turned into an amalgam of 1) what is around and fresh, 2) my taste memories and 3) any excuse to throw a handful of parmesan cheese into a bowl and call it healthful!

Kale salad with corn, avocado and tomato
Serves 2, as a side dish, 1 if you're me
3 large handfuls of prepped kale--destemmed, roughly chopped or ripped
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 ear corn, roasted and cut off the cob
1 cup croutons, homemade preferable but storebought is allowed ;)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large bunch parsley, washed
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil

Put all the dressing ingredients into a blender and whiz on high until blended well.

Put the kale in a large mixing bowl and drizzle the dressing generously over the leaves. Massage the kale with your hands until the leaves wilt and the dressing is very well integrated.

Add the rest of the salad ingredients except the parmesan, and toss to combine. Add a bit more dressing to the salad to ensure that the additional ingredients get coated well with dressing. Add the parmesan last and toss one more time, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

This recipe makes more dressing than needed for one salad. Put the rest of the dressing in a jar and refrigerate. Its pretty greenness will call to you from the fridge!

This salad and dressing are both keepers. I love the bite of the shallots and garlic, as well as the green goddess appearance from the parsley. I will be tossing this dressing on many a salad in the near future!

Enjoy. These waning days of summer, all I want is the good, fresh produce that I know is going to vanish before we know it. Poof.

Jen and I (and now my mom and Lisa too!) are blog challenging throughout September. You can catch her blog over at Stuff Jen Says. If you want to write along with us, give me a shout and I'll send you the blog prompts.