Cook: Kale Salad

Temperatures here in Northern California are very warm, and we’ve heat advisories and admonitions of flex alerts. And so in order not to use the stove, we’re eating leftovers and salads and cold sandwiches. A picture from my stay at Arrowmont, an arts and crafts camp in Gatlinburg, Tennessee popped up on my Facebook memories to remind me to make this salad. I loved the salad bar in the dining room at art camp and even took photos of recipes of my favorite dishes from the school’s cookbook.                   

And so yesterday I made John Boy’s Orange Kale Salad for me and a friend with whom I lunch. I wonder if John Boy is referencing the character in the tv show the Waltons. Were they a family that lived in one of the hollers of the Great Smoky Mountains?

I riffed and added walnuts which I loved and think next time, I will also use walnut oil instead of olive and add balsamic vinegar and chopped shallots instead of ginger.

I also didn’t understand the use of white wine in the recipe; perhaps white wine vinegar was intended? I also needed to use the lower sodium soy sauce in my cupboard as the Filipino soy sauce adds a bit too much funk. Still I love the recipe for the orange and lemon juices in the dressing, the thinly sliced red onion, and the goat cheese which goes so well with the toothy kale.