Since our whole grains community ed cooking class with Urban Relish was so informative (and tasty), I eagerly anticipated the second class about greens. Mike was less enthusiastic, suspecting that such a class would inevitably involve kale. His dislike of kale is well-established, dating back to some sort of childhood vegetable trauma. But, being the supportive husband that he is, he signed up for the class with me and was somewhat dismayed when the evening kicked off with a kale smoothie.
"It's okay," I whispered to him as he eyed it with a combination of skepticism and disgust. "I'll drink it if you don't want it." But he took a small, adventurous sip. And then a bigger one. As I watched in amazement, he polished off his entire smoothie and then told me, "That was good. You should try making these at home."
Since Mike asking me to serve him kale is rather miraculous, I was definitely willing to comply. I think that the secret ingredient is parsley: its brightness masks the bitter flavor of the kale. The fruit provides a hint of sweetness, or you can add the sweetener of your choice if desired.
Serves two
Adapted from the "Kale and Berry Smoothie" recipe from Urban Relish's Keep It Green cooking class
Ingredients:
- 3 cups torn kale leaves, stems and center rib removed (about 3 large leaves)
- 1 cup frozen berries of your choice (I used a strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry blend)
- 1/2 cup tightly packed fresh parsley leaves
- 1 banana, frozen and cut into several chunks
Add kale, berries, parsley, banana, and 1 cup water to blender. Blend until ingredients are well combined and smoothie is desired texture, adding more water if needed.
Pour into glasses and enjoy.
Recipe and photos updated 7/30/2016