Broccoli Kale Salad with Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

Well, the other day I realized that there was a giant box of Kale that was delivered last week and not used in its destined recipe. Sad, because a good bit of it had gone bad. Cool because it gave me an excuse to use it. There was also ginger from last week. Again, a pity that it wasn't used. But what luck for me! Today's menu for enchiladas got over-ruled because it would have been the 3rd tex-mex meal in a row. And the last two were good, so it's not like I could have pretended I was showing them how it's done. Instead, I decided fried rice was the way to go. Then what Kale thing on the side? Something cool and fresh, not all cooked up.

I searched a bit and found that if you massage lemon or lime juice into raw kale, it sort of cooks it in a way and makes it easier to chew. I approve. This meant lemon or lime was a must. Lime, ginger.... with sesame and rice vinegar! Hooray!

I woke up pathetically late (I have no idea why my alarm clock crapped out on me) but the three of us still managed to finish in time. Thanks to my helpers! The recipe here is a bit of a guess, as mine was a much bigger portion and not measured. When I make it again, I'll pay more attention to that. I'm labeling this as a make-ahead, because you really need to let the kale sit in order for the citrus to work its magic. Oh, and all the haters of my kale chips? Loved this. Gobbled it all up. I was happy that I got a big bunch on the first pass because there was none left for seconds. I did make sure to just say "Broccoli Salad" on the menu board, in order to not scare them off.

Broccoli Kale Salad
Serves: 4-8 Time: 30 minutes (then it sits for at least an hour)

1 bunch kale
1/4 cup lime (or lemon) juice
1 small head of broccoli (about 2 cups-ish chopped)
1 clove garlic
1 piece ginger, about the size of your garlic clove
3 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs sesame seeds
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup pecans (optional)

- Wash kale and broccoli
- Cut or rip up bits of kale (whichever you prefer - cutting won't bruise it like lettuce) to 1-2 inch pieces
- Put kale into bowl, sprinkle with lime juice and then 'massage' the juice into the leaves. Basically, mash the leaves around in the juice for a couple of minutes.
- Cut broccoli into small pieces, like 1/8 the size of a regular dipping broccoli and toss into bowl
- Mince the garlic and ginger together and sprinkle over bowl
- Add your sesame oil (if you're lucky enough to have it, it does give a nice flavor), sesame seeds and olive oil, toss to coat kale and broccoli
- Add craisins now, or just before serving
- Add pecans (toast them, if you want) just before serving (or else they'll be soggy gross)

Nutrition info (for 1/6th of recipe, no pecans): Cal - 102 Fat - 4.2g Carbs - 15.4g Protein - 2g (And LOADS of nutrients, like vitamins A&C)
Pecans add (per 1/6th of recipe): Cal - 62 Fat - 6.5g Carbs - 1.2g Protein - 0.8g