"Try it, you'll like it"

That's one of Miss Abby's favorite expressions. You can hear her sing it from behind her lunch plate piled with with salad, broccili, mushrooms and fruit. Once, we were at my Mom's house having barbecued chicken, potato salad and the like. She waved a forkful of potato salad around and cheerfully asked "What is this? I like this!"

As the cool Auntie, I do try to set a good example for eating healthy and keeping an open mind and trying new things. Over the past years, I have discovered many things that I like that were taboo in our house growing up, namely asparagus. Being true to herself, my Mom never cooked anything she didn't like, and a lot of them my sister and I have discovered that we love them, like asparagus, spinach, & creamed corn. Several years ago, I bought a bunch of asparagus on sale at HyVee and roasted it for dinner. Munching away on it, I wondered where have you been all my life?

Other things that I have tried over the past few years that are now among my favorites; butternut squash, eel, beets, parsnips, duck, quail, mussels, calamari, fried pickles, roasted cauliflower. Other things I'm still working on are cooked cabbage (the smell gets to me) fish, especially salmon and brussel sprouts. I really want to love brussel sprouts, because they are so cute!

Here is a good try me recipe. I made this dish this week and we absolutely loved it. I cut this in half, since I had one bunch of kale from the market. I got this off of the Whole Foods website. Enjoy!!


Oven-Roasted Kale

You'll be surprised how easy and tasty this kale preparation is. Andrea from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, sent us this recipe with a note: "It's the only recipe I've found where the kale is not masked by other flavors or cooking methods, and it's crunchy. That makes it fun to eat, plus it's delicious." We are in complete agreement; this recipe quickly became a test kitchen favorite.

Serves 4 as a side dish
2 bunches kale
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 375°F. Rinse the kale. Remove and discard the thick ribs and roughly chop the leaves. Pat leaves dry. Toss with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet. Kale does not need to be in a single layer, as it will shrink in volume as it cooks. Bake for 12 to 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes, depending on how crisp you like it. The leaves will be tender, crisp on the edges and slightly browned. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Nutrition Info
Per serving (About 3oz/83g-wt.): 100 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 3g protein, 5g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 0g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 160mg sodium