Kale Chips

On Saturday, I made my weekly trip to the Farmers' Market and bought several things, one of which was kale. I've never tried kale, but it's a great source of vitamins and calcium, so I thought I'd give it a shot before it goes out of season. My biggest plan for kale was to make a snack for The Munchkin. I've read a lot in the past about kale chips, and as much as she likes crunchy things, I thought this would be an excellent thing to try.

This morning, I did a bit of Googling for ideas about how to make kale chips, and my search led me to one of my favorite food blogs: Smitten Kitchen. Here's her recipe:

1 bunch of kale, washed and dried
1 T olive oil
1 t Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

While the oven is preheating, gently tear the kale away from the stem.

In a bowl, toss the kale pieces in the olive oil and salt.

Arrange the pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet (I used a silicon liner in my pan just to help with cleanup, but this isn't necessary), and bake for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Now, I know how you're all just dying to hear my thoughts on the results. Well, maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anyway. :)

To put it simply, I wasn't a fan. There are several things I think could have played a role in this:

• The kale was bought Saturday, but I didn't use it until today. I'm wondering if it gets bitter as time goes on.
• The baking time in the recipe may have been a little too long. The chips came out with charred edges, and they had a bit of a burnt taste to them.

So, if I try this recipe again, I may either turn the oven temp down a bit or just decrease the time to 15 minutes. I'll also make the chips the same day I purchase the kale, just to avoid any bitterness that might occur after a few days in the fridge.

Have you tried kale chips? What were your thoughts?

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Update: The Munchkin seems to like the kale chips. I'm going to hang on to them, if she'll eat them! :)