i’m prepping for valentine’s day.  we’re actually celebrating and going to an italian restaurant tonight!  so i am eating super clean until tonight.

what can be cleaner than kale salad and lemon ginger hot tea for lunch?

but i really don’t like the tough texture of raw kale.  so here’s what i came up with that makes kale salad very tender and very delicious!

kale salad with green apple vinaigrette

• here’s the trick ~ make your vinaigrette, clean and chop your kale, and throw it all in a ziplock bag.  you’re going to marinate the kale, preferably overnight!

here’s the dressing:

• throw the following in a blender:  some chopped green apple, peel and all, some apple cider vinegar, the juice of a lemon or lime, some honey, a little shallot or red onion, some olive oil, and some salt and pepper.  blend until smooth, then strain.  press with a spatula to ring out all the yummy juice!  what a fresh, light dressing!

back to the salad:

• clean, chop and throw your kale in the bag with the dressing, and add red onion strips, cranberries, cilantro, celery, raisins, more chopped green apple ~ whatever you like.  i cheated and threw in my leftover cran-apple relish from the previous post, titled “acorn squash bisque” ~  that relish is KILLER!
• massage the bag of kale to get that dressing in the crevices of your kale, and put it in the fridge until the next day (i ate a little of this salad last night, just after i had made the kale and dressing, and it is 10 times better today)

the rest of the salad is this:

• green lettuce
• walnuts, toasted in a pan with seasoning salt and cinnamon, and a little sugar
• grated parm

toss it all together and serve immediately!

here’s to over-eating with your loved ones tonight!!!