Cabin Cooking: Sweet Potato and Kale Stir-fry

I grow kale in my floating garden. It’s a long lasting, hardy relative of cabbage that’s easy to grow and tasty to eat. I plant seeds directly in the soil spring, and the plants produce through winter unprotected in our mild Coastal BC climate.

My favourite is Curly Kale. That’s the variety you find frequently in the grocery stores. Early in the season, the leaves are relatively flat, but come cold weather they get curly and thicker.

Just pick the leaves you need. It’s like having a root cellar right in your garden. The following spring, the plants flower and form seed heads. I pick some of the beautiful yellow blossoms for table bouquets.

A tasty side dish on a cool evening is sweet potato and kale stir-fry. It’s quick and easy, and you don’t have to grow the ingredients for yourself. Just check your produce aisle.

Sweet Potato and Kale Stir-fry

Here’s a recipe for two hungry people. Peel and dice one sweet potato. Wash and chop about three cups of fresh curly kale (it will reduce in volume as it cooks). Chop half a small onion and a clove of garlic.

Sauté the onion and garlic in butter. Real butter gives it a special flavour. I always keep individual measured and wrapped pieces in my freezer for this purpose. When the onion is limp, remove it from the pan, and add a little more butter.

Put the diced sweet potato in the pan and cook on low until the bottom is lightly browned. Turn and brown the other side. When tender, add the cooked onion and garlic, and kale. Stir until the kale has warmed and wilted slightly, but still green and a bit crunchy. Salt to taste.

It takes about half an hour to cook (mainly to slowly brown the sweet potato), but well worth the extra time to prepare.

Do you have any favourite kale recipes? -- Margy