“ Um… ”I motion the waiter over, drop my voice into a whisper and say, “excuse me, but theres a bug in my salad.” “Shhhhh don’t tell anyone, they’ll want one too… ”
It’s estimated that we consume 430 bugs per year, now add a few extra hundred to that count if you love kale.kale chips, kale sautéed, kale, cream, and butternut squash casserole… oh it’s wonderful. My mom used to make us kale and mashed potatoes [the Dutch call it Boerenkool ] and although my sister swears that the high levels of aphids were due to Mom’s poor eyesight, the reason the bugs were still hidden in the kale was because she only gave it a cursory rinse and a shake. Mom grew up on a farm, she probably ate more bugs then we could ever dream of, and to her it was no big deal. But my poor sister, she would practically squeal when she found something in her kale.
When it comes to kale it’s a real trade off of bugs versus health, eat kale sprayed with toxic chemicals, or eat organic, and wash and rinse repeat over and over, and still end up eating more aphids then you really wanted to know about. Kale is a powerhouse of nutrients, and it’s definitely a good for you veggie. If curly kale is popular, Lactino kale is the superstar of the veggie world, except it probably has more bugs, and whatever else is hiding in those dark green bumps and crevices.
So what do you do if you are buggy about kale? We always soaked it in salty cold water, or spread the leaves and used a strong spray of water to wash off any bugs. I’ve been known to spray the leaves with vinegar, rinse, and repeat. Or you could do like the Dutch do, and buy your kale in a can, I am sure that any bugs left behind will be well cooked.
Kale is now holding the dubious position of number one on the dirty dozen list of pesticide laden veggies, along with blueberries, so if you can purchase it organically grown, go ahead, it’s well worth it. Or is it? I’ve found numerous bloggers claiming that it doesn’t make any difference if you eat organic veggies, or commercially grown… Now I am confused about my crunchies. How do you feel about this, organic versus commercial farming? Meanwhile I am enjoying my organic crunchy kale… with my eyes closed. What you don’t see, won’t hurt you, right? Does that bug you, or not?
The picture of the Boo is just here for the fun of it, I don’t think he likes kale, but I am pretty sure he likes bugs.