Winter Kale Avocado Salad

Hello again, blogging.

As perhaps most amply evidenced by my nearly two-month absence, life has been very busy lately. I’ve had little time for cooking and less time for blogging, but I have taken some pictures along the way and can perhaps cobble together the hardscrabble culinary path of the past weeks.

If you’re impatient I’ll just say this salad is pretty heavy-handed with the calcium, the protein, the magnesium, and the B-6. And it tastes amazing. There, you can skip to the end.

If you want to go more in-depth . . . about busyness. The “I-want-to-be-healthy-but-I-also-have-negative-three-minutes-in-which-to-make-that-happen-in” busyness. The “I’m-so-sleep-deprived-I-barely-trust-myself-with-knives” pitch of activity. Though I have a long history of becoming easily exasperated and taking longer to recharge than I do to wear down in the first place, I feel justified and saying life has been a bit crazy lately and has merited some emergency-level improvisation, especially in the cooking department. Pants, seats, flying by them, and all that.

 That’s how this salad came about.  I was rushing around in that harried sliver of time between work and volunteering, most of which is burnt up showering and agonizing over the gastric activities of the dog who has been cooped up for almost nine hours. There is little energy or attention left for cooking. However, without an actual meal I tend to eat nothing or, more often, consume literal handfuls of whatever is available for ready consumption, and that’s just not satisfying.

This salad is quick, satisfying, and almost-seasonal for those of you who care about such things. Lately I’ve been loving switching up my salad greens, and until now had only used kale in smoothies and sautés. It’s  beautiful raw, and the heartier leaves make one stop and chew a little more, which is perfect for me since lately I’ve done a lot of frenzied food-scarfing.

And although the toppings aren’t fancy or extensive, the dish also comes with about as much nutrients as a multi-vitamin. Okay not that much, but close: kale, the dark leafy green poster child, comes packed with vitamins A, C, and even some calcium, B-6, and protein—not to mention a ton of fiber—while the avocado and olive oil add some filling healthy fats, the lemon juice doses you up with a little more vitamin C, and the radish....is crunchy and cheap. And if you’re thinking, ‘I don’t need tempeh and almonds, both are protein, right?’, you’re wrong. Kind of. Yes, both contain protein, but they’re also both delicious in conjunction with the salad. The nutty texture and taste of the tempeh is simultaneously a compliment and contrast to the almonds, which, by the way, are full of iron, calcium, and our old friend magnesium. And guess what the tempeh is packing? Iron, magnesium, and our old friend B-6, along with some other good stuff. You get the idea.

  
Also, I only recently started eating tempeh, mostly because I didn't know where to buy it and assumed it was expensive. It's not, or at least not if you live near a Trader Joe’s: you can get the cheapish tempeh hookup there. The packet lasts a while, as long as you don’t eat it like a candybar or something.

Thoughts and tips: You can dress the salad and eat it as is, or put in the fridge for 30-mins to and hour. This causes the dressing to marinade the salad a bit, softens the kale pleasantly, and impregnates the whole dish with extra flavor.

     About the kale—make sure you cut it up into tiny pieces. For real. Trust me.

Winter Kale Avocado Salad

2-3 leaves of kale

¼ avocado         

1 small radish

1/8 cup chopped tempeh

Dressing:

Large lemon wedge for juice—about 1-2 tbsp

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1/8 tsp garlic powder

heaping 1/8 tsp onion powder

Salt + pepper to taste

Chop kale into small, easily chewable pieces. Slice toppings as desired and top kale. Whisk dressing ingredients in a bowl, or simply pour over salad and toss. Serve or save for later, keeps well.