Over the weekend, K and I made the decision to support our local farmers and participate in the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box program. This is a really cool program where for just $15.00 a week, we get a box full of organic produce directly from the local farmers in the Los Angeles community. This is what our box looked like:

Here is another picture:

The box was full of wonderful goodies–a lot of which we never cooked with before. Very exciting!!!

Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised to see the box contained several types of kale in it. Immediately, we decided to recreate one of our favorite kale dishes–Kale with Peanut Sauce. This is a popular side dish served at our local macrobiotic restaurant, M Chaya. We love the slight chewiness of the kale with the creamy and spicy peanut sauce. It is sooo delicious! Of course, you are not limited to just kale–spinach, swiss chard, collard greens, green beans, and galore!

Here is our own rendition of this tasty dish:

What you Need:

• kale (3-4 bunches to make a good size portion)
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (any kind)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of ponzu sauce (soy sauce with citric flavor..may substitute with regular soy and vinegar)
• 2 teaspoons Japanese red pepper flakes (substitute with cayenne)
• 1/2 tablespoon of diced ginger
• 2 cloves of diced garlic

What to Do:

First, boil water in a deep pot and season with salt. While the water is heating up, clean the kale and de-stem the kale.

Once the water is boiling, boil the kale for about a couple minutes. Have a pot with cold water handy. Remove the kale and put it into the pot with cold water. The purpose of this is to shock the veggie–stop the cooking and preserve the color. Next, squeeze the water out of the kale and transfer it to a mixing bowl. The kale will look weird–all clumped up. That is ok. Just ‘declump’ it with your fingers.

Ok, now it’s time to make the sauce. In a blender/food processor, blend the garlic and ginger together. Then add in the peanut butter, ponzu, honey, spice, and blend. Taste the sauce. We want a creamy, not too thick consistency, so add in a couple spoonfuls of water to thin it out, if it’s too thick.

Ok! Now, all we need to do is mix the sauce into the kale.

We drizzled on some more sauce for looks. You can also top it off with some chopped peanuts for extra bang!.

ENJOY!!!!