Bake Me A Salad

"Kale is green. What else would you like to eat that is green?"

Note: thanks to Martha Valenta for suggesting that I write a followup to the classic Who Will Toss My Salad?  Book people, consider this a proposal.  Here’s an endorsement already from author Jessica Tom.

Chapter 1 – Kicking the kale habit

Everybody loves kale chips, right?  But kale isn’t the only leafy green that’s highly bakeable.  There’s also chard.  And rainbow chard chips are like snacking on unicorns.

Chard IS fun.

I’m a lover not a kale chip hater.  Are you leafy and colorful?  Like.  Let’s bake more from the salad bar.  Toss your greens with some olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt before baking. If you’re using a convection oven and can’t turn the fan off, put a metal cooling rack on top of your greens. Otherwise, the chips will start blowing all over your oven when they’re ready.  Charred chard?  Yes, I’ve been there.

Chapter 2 – Will it chip?

Say hello to endive.  I say ahn-deev because it sounds fancier.  That and I have nothing better to do.  I’ll spare you a photo of the endive since I’ve been taking the worst photos lately.  Only I don’t know how bad they are until I look on a computer and see pics like this one.

Does limp spinach make you wilt?  Make spinach chips.  Next?

Next year will be about baked salads. Sample headline -

Baked Salad Movement Sees Green

Crispy baby spinach chips

Chapter 3 – Bake me a salad

Salad tip: bake carrots separately from greens to maximize crispness

I dream of the day we can discuss greens openly. When greens of all colors are accepted in the leafy post-kale lexicon.  The baked salad movement is heating up in a low oven right now for about 20 minutes.  Bake on, foodies.

Still here?  Today’s Let’s Lunch on twitter features festive side dishes that are family traditions.  We didn’t bake salads, but I’m one generation off the farm and my mom did bake a lot, so . . .

Take a look at the delicious posts rounded up by Cheryl Tan from A  Tiger in the Kitchen.

Charissa‘s Coconut Date Balls at Zest Bakery

Ellise‘s Lime-Chipotle Carrots at Cowgirl Chef

Felicia‘s Chinese Butterfly Cookies at Burnt-Out Baker

Grace‘s Fruitcake at HapaMama

Joe‘s Maine Homestead Holiday Dishes at Joe Yonan

Linda‘s Trinidadian Baked Pastelles at Spicebox Travels

Lisa‘s Potato Latkes at Monday Morning Cooking Club

Lucy‘s “Not My Mama’s” Black-Eyed Peas & Greens at A Cook And Her Books

Maria‘s Grandma Dorothy’s Deviled Eggs at Maria’s Good Things

Patrick‘s Baby Pecan Pies at Patrick G. Lee

Steff‘s Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble at The Kitchen Trials

Victor‘s Roasted Parsnips, Carrots & Delicata Squash Tossed With Sauteed Mustard Greens at The Taste of Oregon

Cheryl‘s Auntie Jane’s Potato Gratin: A Singaporean Christmas Casserole at A Tiger in the Kitchen

Rebecca‘s Potato Kugel at Grongar Blog

-Linda

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