What the Kale?

I love kale.  Right before I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I started craving it and eating an entire bunch in one sitting.  Now I know it was my body trying to replace the nutrients I was missing.  And kale is a power house when it comes to nutrients!  Full of vitamins A, C and K, a good source of calcium and iron, kale plays more nutrional roles than Meryl Streep has accents. 

Invited to an Oscar/Going away party for my friend moving to Venezuela, this kale and grapefruit salad seemed like the perfect pick to play both parts.

Kale and Grapefruit Salad

1 bunch kale

1 tbs. olive oil

1 tsp garlic wine vinegar

2 grapefruits

1/4 purple onion, sliced

dash sea salt

Additional gluten free toppings as you prefer: raspberries, sunflower seeds, feta cheese

Rinse and pat the kale dry.  Remove the leaves from the stem.  I usually tear the leaves into bite sized pieces with my hands.

Mix the olive oil and vinegar together.

Drizzle the oil and vinegar over the kale.  Sprinkle sea salt on top.  Now massage the kale with your hands.  This is what it will look like before the massage:

This is what the kale looks like after the massage.  Doesn't it look more relaxed and loose?

Peel the grapefruits and section them.  Be careful not to get any of the pith (pith, not Pitt like Brad Pitt; although he looked pretty yummy tonight) in the salad.  Toss the greens and the grapefruit together.  The longer you let the kale soak in the oil/vinegar/juice, the more tender it will become.

I had raspberries and green onions on hand tonight.  I like to keep the toppings to two or three because, like Meryl's acceptance speech, it's the simplicity of this salad that makes it so refreshing!