Chump, Chive & Kale

I'm drawn to cheesy recipes like a moth to a flame, or Lindsay Lohan to meth.

We got a metric ton of kale, and a CSA-suggested recipe was Raw Kale Salad with Gouda, Pear, and Walnuts. Gouda is one of my most favorite cheeses, so hell yeah I made it.

I need to take food photography lessons from wholeliving.com. Look at this photo. Wooden bowl! Carefully placed matching utensils! Slightly rumpled tablecloth! And are those flowers in the salad? I expect nothing less from Martha Stewart.

Now here's mine:



Maybe I should buy a tablecloth.

Something I need to work on: Portion control. I'm super paranoid that our vegetables are going to go bad before I use them, and one day I will open the fridge to a bevy of mold, slime, and bugs. Shut up, bugs can get in the fridge. I made two BIG bowls of this salad (see?) the day before my husband left on a 5-day business trip.

I tried so hard to eat it all, I really did.  It was so tasty, but just too much.  After a few days, the sliced pears turned brown and the cheese got slimy.  Next time, I will prepare the salad in smaller portions as I go. Kale's pretty hardy; it was fine at the end of the week despite the grody toppings.

The recipe's linked above, but for the lazy:

Raw Kale Salad with Gouda, Pear, and Walnuts

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 bunch of kale (about 1 1/4 lbs (I had a LOT more)), tough stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 oz goat's milk gouda, cut in 1/2 by 1/4 inch pieces (How snobby! Regular cow's milk gouda is fine, and cube that sucker all you want (AND ADD MORE CHEESE).)
6 chives cut into inch-long pieces
1 Anjou pear, halved, cored, and very thinly sliced crosswise

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place walnuts on rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, tossing once during baking, 8-10 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl (or two, if you're me!), whisk together vinegar and oil; season with salt and pepper.  
3. Add kale, cheese, chives, walnuts and pears.
4. Toss to combine.
5. EAT.