Leafy Greens, Two Ways

Now that it's fall, it's time for a few of my favorite things to reenter my life. This means down comforters, waking up to the steam radiator whistling, black tea with soy milk and honey, sweaters and warming fall vegetables. One of my favorites foods ever is kale. Recently, I branched out and made some collard greens as well. Below are recipes for both.

Kale Chips
I recently was given the recipe for Kale Chips which I have become addicted to. All you do is take a bunch of washed kale and tear off chip sized portions and spread them on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil, add some minced garlic, swish around to combine and then roast in a 450 degree oven for five to six minutes. Add salt and chow down. Seriously, the first time I made these we went through three batches. They are also good to put on as a topping for soups or grain dishes.

Collard Greens with Currants and Almonds
Last week my mom gave me a huge bunch of collard greens from her CSA. I trolled the Internet to find a recipe that would be vegetarian and lighter then the normal recipes that usually involve pork fat and an intensive wilting session. I made an adaption of a recipe found on the best blog ever, Tastespotting.
All you do is heat up a large pot until it gets super hot. Add a generous amount of olive oil, a chopped yellow onion and two cloves of garlic. Let these cook for a minute and then add a bunch of collard greens, cut into 1 inch strips, 1/4 of a cup of currants and a 1/4 of a cup of slivered almonds. I added a splash of water to provide a little steaming as well. Let this cook for six minutes stirring occasionally.
The final result was amazing and completely unexpected. The currants were a perfect pairing with the greens and he almonds soaked up the flavored oil and plumped while still providing a good crunch.