the best kale chips in america

i don't presume to know what your diet is like and i don't know if you've ever had kale chips. regardless of whether you have had them or not, i have the best recipe for them right here.

basic kale chips are pretty straight forward. toss some bite sized bits of kale sans stems (dino or curly) in oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake.

boring.

the other day i pulled last seasons dino kale out of my garden. the stalks were about 3 inches in diameter and the plants were taller than me! surprisingly, there were still a ton of harvestable leaves on them. i wish i had taken photos. oh well. anyway, back to the recipe... i have made two batches now. both times i thought i was making a ton that would last me a few days. both times it was all gone within an hour of coming out of the oven.

here's the not so big secret: sriracha

i use about a 5 second squeeze on a big bowl of raw kale (about 3 handfulls) torn into bite sized pieces. toss them along with about a tablespoon of olive oil until the leaves are more or less coated evenly. you can use more or less sriracha depending on your tastes, it's not an exact science.

spread the leaves onto as many cookie sheets (lined in parchment paper) as you need to avoid overlap.

sprinkle with sea salt AND garlic powder.

bake at 275 for about 15 minutes. until they're not floppy but not burnt.

the best news about it? kale is one of those "cruciferous" vegetables everyone says you need to eat all the time. these are "brassica" veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, and collards that are descendants from wild cabbage. kale lowers cholesterol, is anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and rich in vitamins K, A, and C!