Testing Popular Trends

basil, barley, kale and lemon salad

Kale is at the tip of everyone's tongue these days, literally and figuratively.  Shopping yesterday, I watched a committed kale enthusiast try to get her Mother to 'taste the goodness' as she offered up a piece of leaf from her bunch soon to end up in the shopping cart.  MOM would have nothing to do with it..."too strong, smells like green yuk! ' the Mom replied.  A glare and then shrug of the daughter's shoulder as a snub and off they went both focused on shopping for their own eating habits.

spinning pesto

We all have an individual sense of taste and with individualism being almost at an all time height, I can see it creates lots of pier pressure as well as confusion when it comes time for a family or friendly meal.  Too many personal specifics crowd the refrigerator and workspace .

I found a kale barley recipe in a monthly popular food magazine.  Two trending items, barley for fiber and kale for nutrient richness.  I know I can take a cooked cup of barley, put a few drops of lemon juice on it, add salt and pepper and even without further ingredients, I have a good meal.  I could do the same for kale but would add a few drops of oil to ease digestion, regardless of a few added calories.

When you take barley and toss it with an intense kale pesto that is made from spinning 6 oz of kale with a bit over 1/2 cup of oil, you get a large flavor bomb that I can only say intensifies with added fresh kale in the salad, as this recipe specified.  And while I do believe food is your best medicine, I was looking to eat tasty vittles, but instead I felt if I made the published recipe my food was more about detox.  I ended up reserving the kale pesto, adding a touch of it to my traditional pesto, tossing in some additional basil leaves with the torn kale, then using the rest of the ingredient base of currants, fresh chopped shallot, a tablespoon of preserved lemon, toasted pine nuts and barley for a fabo Summer dish that for me was more balanced.  The Vegetable Alchemist.
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