"May I have more chippy chip chips?"

My snack today

I'm not a natural vegetable lover- my family can attest to this. For the most part, I eat veggies because I know they're good for me, not because I love them. But today, for snack, I couldn't stop eating one of the sturdiest, heartiest, greenest, veggie-est of all vegetables-- kale-- not because I ought to, but because I actually liked it. A lot.

The reason? Kale chips.

Basically, you de-stem the kale, cut or tear it up, toss it with a bit of oil and bake till crisp. An amazing alchemy takes place in the oven where something densely leafy...

turns into something impossibly light, with a nice depth of flavor from the oil and salt. It was amazing...

Of course, the greatest test was whether or not I could get Sophie on board. We actually don't have problems with Sophie eating her vegetables (except maybe raw salad, which I can't imagine any two-year old getting excited about anyway), it's just that she has her days (as with all things toddler). On some days, she'll happily eat her green beans and broccoli as they are on her plate; on others, the only way I can get any vegetable into her is if I hide butternut squash in pasta sauce or drown spinach in her favorite miso soup. So who knows how well she'll take to crunchy kale?

Thankfully, well enough to ask for seconds, actually :)