Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing

Since I can't go to the store....I don't really need to....I'm finding the challenge of using only what I have alot of fun! I made this kale salad because I had kale 2 weeks in a row in my CSA box and, to be honest, I'm tired of just throwing it in soup, lol!

Whole Foods makes a kale and sesame salad that, in my opinion, sucks! It doesn't have near enough flavor, of sesame or anything else! But I like the idea of sesame dressing with kale so I made up my own, based on a internet recipe search.

Sesame Dressing

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

2 tsp. olive oil (or any other oil)

2 tsp. soy sauce

1-2 tsp. tahini

2 tsp. honey

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar (or unseasoned rice vinegar)

1 clove garlic, crushed

This makes enough dressing for a salad made with 1-2 bunches of kale.

Blanch or steam a hearty variety of kale leaves, stripped from stems. Rinse under cold water to stop cooking, strain and then squeeze the excess water from the leaves...then refluff! You can add whatever other sliced or chopped veggies that lend themselves to an 'asian' style salad, I still had some purple scallions, so I used those.

Of course sesame seeds would of been most appropriate to sprinkle on, but the ones I have in my cabinet could be months, or even years old, and I wanted a nut with a little more 'mouth feel' anyway, so I used almonds.....sliced would of looked nicer, but I didn't have any already sliced, so I chopped my own! (about 1 oz)

I got alot of my favorite carrots in my CSA box this week, so I'll julienne a couple and make a carrot salad with this sesame dresssing. I'm tempted to go the the store for sesame seeds, but I'll resist! I've got plenty of other nuts and seeds to use in the mean time. Now, resisting the farmers market this weekend is going to be a real challenge! I love the farmers market!

But I still have plenty of veggies including enough for 3-4 days of wilted salads, and I've got some turnips I need to do something with. I've already cut the turnips into wedges, blanched them, and washed the turnip greens. I'm thinking about a salad with brown rice/quinoa/barley and some sort of dressing...I'm not sure yet.

PS The leek and pea soup came out great! I'm hooked on leek soup now, lol!