Freezing Kale?

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 21 Aug 2005 07:18:55a, jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> I may have asked this before; forgive me if I forgot. I bought a
> bunch of fresh kale. I don't like the stuff myself but it's for my
> lovebird who adores it
>
If this hasn't been said before, ALL leafy greens; e.g., kale,
spinach, turnip, mustard, etc., must be cooked or at least well
blanched before freezing. As you know from cooking other greens,
after any cooking process (apart from frying), the greens will be
quite soft and never crisp. I've never had a bird other than a
canary, so I have no idea if this would be appealing to your
lovebird, but somehow I doubt it.

Nope, she doesn't like cooked greens. They must be fresh. Oh well,
she'll get a few leaves a week until the bunch starts to yellow or
otherwise go bad. In the meantime she has carrots (she loves raw
carrots!) and a Gala apple (I give her slices of it) to munch on 🙂

Re: freezing cabbage - ever notice that's one vegetable you can't
find in the freezer section at the grocery store? 😉

Jill

Jill,

Do try the local nursery. :-)
Kale is easy to keep alive and really does last for months, plus it's
a pretty plant. And fresh piced kale will be higher in nutrition
anyway.....

This was someone elses idea, but it was a really good one!

Full sun, water twice per week or if it wilts.

Cheers!

Oops, I clicked Send before I replied (yet again!) I probably will look for
it but since I live in an apartment I'll need to grow it in a pot on the
patio. As for full sun and watering... it hit 100F here yesterday and 98F
today. (I live outside of Memphis, TN.) I'll be darned if we aren't
supposed to have a cool spell tomorrow, only supposed to be 95F!!! Water,
water, water, yep, that would be the ticket. Would I need to bring it
inside in the winter, I wonder? It also gets very cold here. Sometimes we
even get snow and ice. Weird climate.

Jill

On Sun 21 Aug 2005 09:07:20p, jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>, "jmcquown"

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sun 21 Aug 2005 07:18:55a, jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> I may have asked this before; forgive me if I forgot. I bought a
>> bunch of fresh kale. I don't like the stuff myself but it's for my
>> lovebird who adores it
>>
> If this hasn't been said before, ALL leafy greens; e.g., kale,
> spinach, turnip, mustard, etc., must be cooked or at least well
> blanched before freezing. As you know from cooking other greens,
> after any cooking process (apart from frying), the greens will be
> quite soft and never crisp. I've never had a bird other than a
> canary, so I have no idea if this would be appealing to your
> lovebird, but somehow I doubt it.
>
Nope, she doesn't like cooked greens. They must be fresh. Oh well,
she'll get a few leaves a week until the bunch starts to yellow or
otherwise go bad. In the meantime she has carrots (she loves raw
carrots!) and a Gala apple (I give her slices of it) to munch on 🙂

Re: freezing cabbage - ever notice that's one vegetable you can't
find in the freezer section at the grocery store? 😉

Jill

Jill,

Do try the local nursery. :-)
Kale is easy to keep alive and really does last for months, plus it's
a pretty plant. And fresh piced kale will be higher in nutrition
anyway.....

This was someone elses idea, but it was a really good one!

Full sun, water twice per week or if it wilts.

Cheers!

Oops, I clicked Send before I replied (yet again!) I probably will look
for it but since I live in an apartment I'll need to grow it in a pot on
the patio. As for full sun and watering... it hit 100F here yesterday
and 98F today. (I live outside of Memphis, TN.) I'll be darned if we
aren't supposed to have a cool spell tomorrow, only supposed to be
95F!!! Water, water, water, yep, that would be the ticket. Would I
need to bring it inside in the winter, I wonder? It also gets very cold
here. Sometimes we even get snow and ice. Weird climate.

Jill

Kale can survive very cole temps, but not freezing.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four,
unless there are three other people.

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Virus Database (VPS): 0533-5, 08/20/2005
Tested on: 8/21/2005 9:10:55 PM
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In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sun 21 Aug 2005 07:18:55a, jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> I may have asked this before; forgive me if I forgot. I bought a
>> bunch of fresh kale. I don't like the stuff myself but it's for my
>> lovebird who adores it
>>
> If this hasn't been said before, ALL leafy greens; e.g., kale,
> spinach, turnip, mustard, etc., must be cooked or at least well
> blanched before freezing. As you know from cooking other greens,
> after any cooking process (apart from frying), the greens will be
> quite soft and never crisp. I've never had a bird other than a
> canary, so I have no idea if this would be appealing to your
> lovebird, but somehow I doubt it.
>
Nope, she doesn't like cooked greens. They must be fresh. Oh well,
she'll get a few leaves a week until the bunch starts to yellow or
otherwise go bad. In the meantime she has carrots (she loves raw
carrots!) and a Gala apple (I give her slices of it) to munch on 🙂

Re: freezing cabbage - ever notice that's one vegetable you can't
find in the freezer section at the grocery store? 😉

Jill

Jill,

Do try the local nursery. :-)
Kale is easy to keep alive and really does last for months, plus it's
a pretty plant. And fresh piced kale will be higher in nutrition
anyway.....

This was someone elses idea, but it was a really good one!

Full sun, water twice per week or if it wilts.

Cheers!

Oops, I clicked Send before I replied (yet again!) I probably will look for
it but since I live in an apartment I'll need to grow it in a pot on the
patio. As for full sun and watering... it hit 100F here yesterday and 98F
today. (I live outside of Memphis, TN.) I'll be darned if we aren't
supposed to have a cool spell tomorrow, only supposed to be 95F!!! Water,
water, water, yep, that would be the ticket. Would I need to bring it
inside in the winter, I wonder? It also gets very cold here. Sometimes we
even get snow and ice. Weird climate.

Jill

Well, I started mine last fall in a raised bed, then moved it into 1
gallon pots this spring when I needed the garden space.

2 of the 3 are still alive in 1 gallon pots. :-) This is texas and every
bit as hot! 95 to 102. They seem to be pretty tough so should do just
fine on your patio in the sun. Just keep a water tray under them.

They wintered over. That group of plants is resistant to freezing. Just
toss a sheet over them when you are expecting a frost.

I feed mine to the cockatoo and discovered that I also really don't care
to eat Kale. <G>

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

jmcquown said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sun 21 Aug 2005 07:18:55a, jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> I may have asked this before; forgive me if I forgot. I bought a
>> bunch of fresh kale. I don't like the stuff myself but it's for my
>> lovebird who adores it
>>
> If this hasn't been said before, ALL leafy greens; e.g., kale,
> spinach, turnip, mustard, etc., must be cooked or at least well
> blanched before freezing. As you know from cooking other greens,
> after any cooking process (apart from frying), the greens will be
> quite soft and never crisp. I've never had a bird other than a
> canary, so I have no idea if this would be appealing to your
> lovebird, but somehow I doubt it.
>
Nope, she doesn't like cooked greens. They must be fresh. Oh well,
she'll get a few leaves a week until the bunch starts to yellow or
otherwise go bad. In the meantime she has carrots (she loves raw
carrots!) and a Gala apple (I give her slices of it) to munch on 🙂

Re: freezing cabbage - ever notice that's one vegetable you can't
find in the freezer section at the grocery store? 😉

Jill

Jill,

Do try the local nursery. :-)
Kale is easy to keep alive and really does last for months, plus it's
a pretty plant. And fresh piced kale will be higher in nutrition
anyway.....

This was someone elses idea, but it was a really good one!

Full sun, water twice per week or if it wilts.

Cheers!

Oops, I clicked Send before I replied (yet again!) I probably will look for
it but since I live in an apartment I'll need to grow it in a pot on the
patio. As for full sun and watering... it hit 100F here yesterday and 98F
today. (I live outside of Memphis, TN.) I'll be darned if we aren't
supposed to have a cool spell tomorrow, only supposed to be 95F!!! Water,
water, water, yep, that would be the ticket. Would I need to bring it
inside in the winter, I wonder? It also gets very cold here. Sometimes we
even get snow and ice. Weird climate.

Jill

Food type kale won't do well in a pot, and certainly not indoors...
there are ornamental kales, some grow huge, as large as a honda civic,
but they won't grow indoors either... they do best in the far north
where it's daylight for months. Kale needs a long cool growing season,
won't tolerate your temperatures at all, with temps in the 90s it'll
bolt in a week and be useless as food. Kale is in the cabbage family,
a cruciferous plant... a huge family of plants, probably more types
than all the rest of the food plants combined... oddly yoose
southerners eat most of what y'all call "greens" but they're grown up
here in yankee country where it's cool. Btw, head cabbage freezes well
but isn't marketed frozen because it stores so well fresh there is no
reason to freeze it... can easily be kept up to six months.

Sheldon

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

On Sun 21 Aug 2005 09:07:20p, jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Re: freezing cabbage - ever notice that's one vegetable you can't
find in the freezer section at the grocery store? 😉

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

95F!!! Water, water, water, yep, that would be the ticket. Would I
need to bring it inside in the winter, I wonder? It also gets very cold
here. Sometimes we even get snow and ice. Weird climate.

Quoted message said:

Kale can survive very cole temps, but not freezing.

Well, I guess that answers the question. Don't freeze kale.

Jill, do you like escarole soup? I love it. I bet you kale
would be a perfect replacement for the escarole.

My ex mil made the best pork chops, sauteed in a frying pan with
a box of frozen kale. Doesn't sound like much, but everyone
loved it. Wish I could remember the details, it's been so long.

nancy

Nancy Young said:

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

On Sun 21 Aug 2005 09:07:20p, jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Re: freezing cabbage - ever notice that's one vegetable you can't
find in the freezer section at the grocery store? 😉

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

95F!!! Water, water, water, yep, that would be the ticket. Would I
need to bring it inside in the winter, I wonder? It also gets very
cold here. Sometimes we even get snow and ice. Weird climate.

Quoted message said:

Kale can survive very cole temps, but not freezing.

Well, I guess that answers the question. Don't freeze kale.

Jill, do you like escarole soup? I love it. I bet you kale
would be a perfect replacement for the escarole.

I've never tasted escarole. On a different note, I almost bought belgian
endive yesterday, then thought to myself, why? I don't even know what it
tastes like! It just looked kinda cute <G>

Quoted message said:

My ex mil made the best pork chops, sauteed in a frying pan with
a box of frozen kale. Doesn't sound like much, but everyone
loved it. Wish I could remember the details, it's been so long.

Oh yeah, I have to do those stuffed chops today. I have sleeping sickness -
I slept through dinner last night!

Jill

jmcquown said:

Dee Randall said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I may have asked this before; forgive me if I forgot. I bought a
bunch of fresh kale. I don't like the stuff myself but it's for my
lovebird who adores it (and it gives her necessary iron not to
mention something to chew
on). It's not available in loose leaves like baby spinach and some
other greens. I had to buy a big honkin' bunch of it. Can I wash
it, pack it in
some freezer bags and freeze it?

Jill
--
I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.

Forgive me, Jill, but I will answer a question that probably everyone
knows; freezing spinach. I bought a big package of fresh spinach at
Costco and had eaten only 2 bunches of it. I had to leave for 5 days,
so I stuck it in the freezer just the way it was, in the bag. I took
it out when I came home last night; this morning it is mushy and
watery. Doesn't look like it could be salvagable. I also stuck in 4
full stocks of baby bok choy. I will look to see what it did, too.
Dee Dee

So how do they manage to sell frozen spinach and other frozen greens? There
must be some way I can keep this. The thing is, you can't feed greens to a
lovebird every day or they will develop diarrhea. But it's good for them
about once a week. Granted, the bunch of kale was only 89 cents but I hate
to waste it.

Jill

Here's a couple of ways to do spinach, kale, beet tops, turnip greens,
wild greens, or swiss chard:

drying - Cut very coarsely into strips. Boil spinach and Swiss chard
for 1 1/2 min or steam for 2 min. Blanch 2 min longer for kale leaves.
Spread strips not more than 1/2 inch thick on trays. Dry until crisp
and crumble easily.

freezing - Wash carefully and remove any tough mid ribs or stems.
Blanch 2 min then drain. Pack into freezer containers leaving 1/2 inch
headroom. Freeze.

canned - Wash green thoughly and discard large, tough stems. Heat
greens until wilted in just enough water to prevent sticken. Cut
through greens several times with a sharp knife before packing. Pack
hot greens into hot jars leaving 1 in headspace. Add 1/2 tsp salt to
each pint (optional). Ladle boiling water over greens leaving 1 inch
headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2-piece caps. Process pints 1
hour at 10 lbs pressure in *pressure canner*.

You can use them in prepared dishes to be frozen too. I use swiss chard
just like cabbage leaves in stuffed rolls with a roasted tomato sauce.
These freeze well. Either swiss chard or spinach can be used in lasagne
to be frozen.

Syssi said:

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall wrote:

>"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
>news:[email hidden]...
>
>>I may have asked this before; forgive me if I forgot. I bought a
>>bunch of fresh kale. I don't like the stuff myself but it's for my
>>lovebird who adores it (and it gives her necessary iron not to
>>mention something to chew
>>on). It's not available in loose leaves like baby spinach and some
>>other greens. I had to buy a big honkin' bunch of it. Can I wash
>>it, pack it in
>>some freezer bags and freeze it?
>>
>>Jill
>>--
>>I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.
>>
>
>Forgive me, Jill, but I will answer a question that probably everyone
>knows; freezing spinach. I bought a big package of fresh spinach at
>Costco and had eaten only 2 bunches of it. I had to leave for 5 days,
>so I stuck it in the freezer just the way it was, in the bag. I took
>it out when I came home last night; this morning it is mushy and
>watery. Doesn't look like it could be salvagable. I also stuck in 4
>full stocks of baby bok choy. I will look to see what it did, too.
>Dee Dee

So how do they manage to sell frozen spinach and other frozen greens?
There
must be some way I can keep this. The thing is, you can't feed greens to
a
lovebird every day or they will develop diarrhea. But it's good for them
about once a week. Granted, the bunch of kale was only 89 cents but I
hate
to waste it.

Jill

Jill, I have thoroughly cooked spinach and frozen it inside ziplock bags
after it's cooled. To me, when I say thoroughly cook, I mean only about 2
minutes, though. To save greens, I feel that I could do that with any
green if I had the time.
Everything that I threw into the freezer before I left, and then I left
out last night to thaw, was completely waterlogged in its own raw
contents; somehow the water rendered itself out.
As far as to your kale needed for the birds, you can buy it once a week,
give your bird a little and you have the rest. A great way to make sure
you get your greens. If you buy kale by the pound, which is the only way
you can buy it here, NOT by the bunch, then buy a little less. I have
bought produce that has rung up at less than 15 cents. Who cares?
Certainly not the check-out person.
Bye,
Dee Dee
==============>

That might work... also, what about drying it? Then it could be crumbled
into her other food and/or added to her water...? I dunno. I never had
birds. Thank you Mr. Hitchcock for that! To this day I watch seagulls like
a proverbial hawk... days to the beach are tough. : /

Especially if you are near someone who tosses food out to the seagulls 😉

jmcquown said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 21 Aug 2005 07:18:55a, jmcquown wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

I may have asked this before; forgive me if I forgot. I bought a
bunch of fresh kale. I don't like the stuff myself but it's for my
lovebird who adores it

If this hasn't been said before, ALL leafy greens; e.g., kale,
spinach, turnip, mustard, etc., must be cooked or at least well
blanched before freezing. As you know from cooking other greens,
after any cooking process (apart from frying), the greens will be
quite soft and never crisp. I've never had a bird other than a
canary, so I have no idea if this would be appealing to your
lovebird, but somehow I doubt it.

Nope, she doesn't like cooked greens. They must be fresh. Oh well, she'll
get a few leaves a week until the bunch starts to yellow or otherwise go
bad. In the meantime she has carrots (she loves raw carrots!) and a Gala
apple (I give her slices of it) to munch on 🙂

Re: freezing cabbage - ever notice that's one vegetable you can't find in
the freezer section at the grocery store? 😉

Jill

I haven't seen it as cabbage alone but our local store sells frozen
cabbage rolls. That basically the only way I freeze cabbage too. We
aren't big into cabbage. I make cabbage rolls, coleslaw, and
sauerkraut. That's about it.