Kale Salad - Love it!

1 or more bunches of kale (for a party, 2-3 large bunches is good)
Olive oil
Fresh lemon juice from at least 1/2 a lemon (or bottled)
salt & freshly ground pepper
Chopped nuts (1/4 to 1 c.)
Dried cranberries and raisins (or either one)  (1/4 to 1 c.)
Gorgonzola cheese (1/4 to 1 c.) (or blue cheese, or cheddar in a pinch)
Aim to have enough cheese, nuts, and dried fruit to be part of most bites of the salad

1) Quick Kale Prep (5 min.)
Wash enough kale to over-fill your salad bowl.
Strip the leaves off the stems by holding the stem in one hand, and using the fingers and thumb of your other hand, slide your second hand "up" the kale stem to pull off the leaf.
Wash by putting in a large bowl of water, swishing around, and lifting out.
If it's still sandy, repeat.
Spin dry or wrap in dishtowel to remove most of the water on the leaves.
Stack several leaves of kale on top of each other and cut both lengthwise and crosswise to make confetti-size pieces. (about 1/2" square).
Put into your salad bowl (they'll take up much less room now.

2) Massage the Kale (1 min.)
Sprinkle on olive oil and massage it into the kale with your hands.
As you do, the kale will "wilt" a bit and soften up - a good thing!

3) Complete the Dressing (1 min.):
Sprinkle on lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper.
Toss it with the kale, or massage it all together one more time

4) Add in the Special Toppings (2 min):
Crumbled gorgonzola cheese (you can choose another cheese if you prefer).
Mixed dried cranberries & raisins (or some other dried fruit)
Chopped walnuts (or pistachios or some other nuts)

5) Toss it all together (1 min)
Serve (or chill for later)
   and get ready for the ooohs and aahhs!

Even those who insist they "hate" kale, are taken by surprise and love this salad!

And it's so very easy to make. After you assemble your ingredients, you can make this in just 10 min.
Submitted by Patti Andrews