Kale

HOW'RE THOSE New Year's resolutions going? Back in January, I challenged myself, and you, to double our fruit and vegetable intake by the end of 2012. And as of this month, I pretty much already have. OK, partly that's because my total for fresh fruit has historically been pitiful. But I also had a powerful ally that gave me confidence: a Vitamix high-speed blender. In just a few months, I've had so many fruit and vegetable smoothies that I've already passed my 2011 total.

Kale is about as unlikely a food star as you can imagine. It's tough and fibrous. Bite a piece of raw kale and you'll practically end up with splinters between your teeth. Nevertheless, kale has become a green of the moment because, given a little special care, it's not only edible but delicious. You can cook it, of course, the lower and slower the better. But surprisingly, one of the most popular ways to use kale these days is in salads. Though kale leaves have always been found on almost every salad bar, it wasn't for reasons of edibility - it was for decoration, because this was one green so tough it would last forever without wilting.

1 cup fresh bread crumbs 2 cloves garlic, split in half lengthwise 1 teaspoon lemon zest Olive oil Salt 1 pound kale 4 teaspoons lemon juice 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, ? grated or shaved with a vegetable peeler   1. To toast the bread crumbs, combine them in a small saucepan with the garlic, lemon zest, and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Stir to coat well. There should be only a light trace of oil in the bottom of the pan. Season with a pinch of salt and place over medium-high heat.

Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, collards and kale are excellent sources of carotenoids. These antioxidants are believed to have anti-cancer properties and to reduce the accumulation of arterial plaque. Kale contains an incredible amount of beta-carotene (the best known of the various carotenoids), with almost twice the daily recommended allowance. Cultivated for more than 2,000 years, kale is very low in calories, rich in Vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium and iron.

Like the once-maligned red beet (currently starring in stylish carpaccios) and, to some extent, the long-neglected parsnip, kale has trudged back from food Siberia - a tough guy, unafraid of the cold, a lion well-suited for winter. It has something of the persona, in fact, of the root vegetable, but upended, its leaves tending toward a certain leathery look (if not chew), in certain varieties as crinkled as a bad perm; in others, as dark and tall as donkey ears. You may have noted in passing that it has also been employed - or appears to have been - as a defensive shield.

TECHNICALLY, kale is not a "superfood. " This cabbage-like leaf, rich in cancer-busting antioxidants and crunchy goodness, is in a class by itself, of "Super-Duper-food. " And now a super-duper-fun way to enjoy it is catching on: kale chips. I noticed the kale-chip trend (Ooh, a food trend! Must credit "V for Veg!") when Appetite for Profit author Michele Simon tweeted about making them and got a crush of replies from people, including me, who either had also just done so or wanted to. By the time I'd made my first batch, it seemed everybody was on the kale-chip bandwagon.

If you've been avoiding dark winter greens, assuming them too bitter, too tough, and too hard to digest, you are missing out on some delicious and highly nutritious foods. An old-fashioned, peasant image, and long cooking times, may have shadowed these dark leafy greens in the past, but they are now gracing menus at upscale restaurants all over town. And with good reason - they are among the most nutritious and popular vegetables worldwide. "Greens are not considered an elegant, rich food," said Althea Zanecosky, registered dietitian and regional spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Jack McDavid's Down Home Diner in the Reading Terminal Market serves some of the unfanciest food in town. And some of the best. Things like meatloaf and crabcakes and fried chicken, with such extras as hush puppies, homemade biscuits and red-eye gravy. Those are fairly familiar to most of his customers. But McDavid has been known to persuade a customer to try something even more humble and a lot less mainstream. Like lamb breast, for goodness' sake. And fried kale. McDavid's cooking is so simple it demands fresh ingredients, so he shops daily, sometimes hourly, for what he needs, as he needs it. The lamb breasts, like most of the meats he uses in the diner, are from Martin's Meats, a Terminal Market neighbor.

Mum's definitely the word as Jaime Galaton, 5, and her mom, Eileen, of Mantua, dig up chrysanthemums at Zimmerman Farms in Hurffville. The farm's open for mum and kale diggers until Dec. 1.

Even though my roots aren't Southern (unless you count Sicily) or black, warming up to collards, kale, and mustard greens was easy for me, having grown up on dandelion, chicory, and escarole. I'm glad these greens, too long relegated to poor folks, are coming into vogue. In addition to their hearty flavor, we're now finding out how nutritious they are. And they're not so difficult to prepare, either. The late James Beard noted in his voluminous "American Cookery," that greens were " . . . in the diet of early settlers and cross country travelers.

HOW'RE THOSE New Year's resolutions going? Back in January, I challenged myself, and you, to double our fruit and vegetable intake by the end of 2012. And as of this month, I pretty much already have. OK, partly that's because my total for fresh fruit has historically been pitiful. But I also had a powerful ally that gave me confidence: a Vitamix high-speed blender. In just a few months, I've had so many fruit and vegetable smoothies that I've already passed my 2011 total.

Kale is about as unlikely a food star as you can imagine. It's tough and fibrous. Bite a piece of raw kale and you'll practically end up with splinters between your teeth. Nevertheless, kale has become a green of the moment because, given a little special care, it's not only edible but delicious. You can cook it, of course, the lower and slower the better. But surprisingly, one of the most popular ways to use kale these days is in salads. Though kale leaves have always been found on almost every salad bar, it wasn't for reasons of edibility - it was for decoration, because this was one green so tough it would last forever without wilting.

1 cup fresh bread crumbs 2 cloves garlic, split in half lengthwise 1 teaspoon lemon zest Olive oil Salt 1 pound kale 4 teaspoons lemon juice 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, ? grated or shaved with a vegetable peeler   1. To toast the bread crumbs, combine them in a small saucepan with the garlic, lemon zest, and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Stir to coat well. There should be only a light trace of oil in the bottom of the pan. Season with a pinch of salt and place over medium-high heat.

Growing up in a meat-and-potatoes Midwestern family, my familiarity with greens was limited mainly to lettuce, spinach, and brussels sprouts, and those tiny cabbages became fodder for long-running dinner feuds with my father. Many a night, he'd order me to sit and finish the bitter, mushy, boiled knobs that I despised. Usually, my mother would rescue me by stealthily swiping most of the sprouts off my plate and making me eat only the remaining few. That was before I (or my mother)

Harry Kale, a retired architect, died of Alzheimer's disease at Rydal Park retirement community Monday, Nov. 7, three days before his 91st birthday. After serving in the Army, Mr. Kale earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating magna cum laude in 1950, he was an associate with the architectural firm of Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson in Philadelphia. In 1953, he became a partner with the firm of Eshbach, Glass & Kale in Philadelphia.

Plant regular, dwarf, and pillar (tall and narrow) fruit trees for next year. They can be placed in the ground or in containers with a diameter of 36 inches or more. For workshops, check out the nonprofit Philly Orchard Project at http://www.phillyorchards.org/ . Dress up perennial borders with fall-blooming mums. Select varieties with a lot of buds so you'll have a longer bloom period, and make sure they are hardy for our region, meaning they will survive the winter.

TECHNICALLY, kale is not a "superfood. " This cabbage-like leaf, rich in cancer-busting antioxidants and crunchy goodness, is in a class by itself, of "Super-Duper-food. " And now a super-duper-fun way to enjoy it is catching on: kale chips. I noticed the kale-chip trend (Ooh, a food trend! Must credit "V for Veg!") when Appetite for Profit author Michele Simon tweeted about making them and got a crush of replies from people, including me, who either had also just done so or wanted to. By the time I'd made my first batch, it seemed everybody was on the kale-chip bandwagon.

The old "good and good for you" concept gets an appealing update from twins Kriti and Kunal Sehgal at Pure Fare, their locally sourced, organic grab-and-go cafe that focuses on salads, soups, and sandwiches - plus the first local coffee bar to feature Blue Bottle beans from San Francisco. All items are under 500 calories - with trackable nutritional data for those who obsess enough to sign onto Pure Fare's proprietary software. The lunch crowd, meanwhile, positively bustles with Penn students in yoga pants, nibbling away at kale salads and muffins made with quinoa flour.

Like the once-maligned red beet (currently starring in stylish carpaccios) and, to some extent, the long-neglected parsnip, kale has trudged back from food Siberia - a tough guy, unafraid of the cold, a lion well-suited for winter. It has something of the persona, in fact, of the root vegetable, but upended, its leaves tending toward a certain leathery look (if not chew), in certain varieties as crinkled as a bad perm; in others, as dark and tall as donkey ears. You may have noted in passing that it has also been employed - or appears to have been - as a defensive shield.

I approach each season as an opportunity to feast on new flavors. So while I am sad to see fresh tomatoes and peppers leave my family's table (just as I am sad to see my summer tan fade), I am equally happy to enter into the heart of autumn's bounty. Rainbow chard; huge collards; tender spinach; delicate and crispy lettuces; purple, green, and savoy cabbages; brussels sprouts; cauliflower; broccoli; and various delightful potatoes are all still available from local fields and gardens.