Kale Chips – Y-u-m-m-y

I’m up at the crack of dawn everyday. Not necessarily because I want to. Zoey usually starts meowing and clawing  at her and Tigger’s room door between 5 and 6. Mind you this is the cat that runs and hides beneath the bed for the slightest threat, real or imagined. But after being locked up without food, I guess she puts that fear of hers on temporary hold. Like until her belly is full. The cat is an eating machine. Good thing for her I’m either already up myself or getting ready to.

What with writing, reading, researching, and spending time with Tigger and Zoey, I need all the energy I can get. I’m Type 2 Diabetic so have to keep those carbs to a limit. Something that really gets me over the hump are kale chips. My son, Zeke, introduced them to me several months ago. I’ve been hooked since. When Zeke cooks them there’s a delicate balance of crunchiness, saltiness, and chewiness. The chewiness comes from the olive oil he massages into the leaves. It only takes a little  bit of sea salt and you have a snack that make you want to smack, well, you know who.

Crispy Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients
1 Bundle of Kale
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt

Prep work
Thoroughly clean each kale leaf under water and dry them.
Large bowl and pan ready.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 340 degrees F.

2. Fold kale leaf together and slowly tear off the stem. Now tear each kale leaf into small individual bite size pieces and place them into a large bowl.

3. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle one teaspoon of sea salt over bite sized kale. Proceed to massage the kale together for 2 minutes in the bowl.

4. Once finished lay them on your baking pan with a little room available between each piece. Now place pan into oven and cook for 12 minutes or until brownish green.

Serve and enjoy.  Let me know what you think.

Photos below.

I feel like springtime

I feel like springtime. I cut off nearly all my hair a week ago. It was so damaged from perms and texturizers it resembled a dying hedge bush. It probably felt like a dying hedge too, dry and brittle to the touch. With Spring fast approaching I figured why not start anew.

Short-short natural hair I know isn’t for everyone. But I love running my palms and fingers across the curly softness and knowing that like me, my hair is also starting over. Also I love having the breeze caress my scalp when I’m out walking in the park or wherever. Last Sunday while I walked in the drizzling rain I felt my scalp actually tingling. It was like the rain was fertilizer and my hair rejoicing flowers. I usually wear a ball cap when I’m out walking to catch sweat. But on that occasion and a couple of others, I decided to set my head free.

Now the artist in me is craving a bit more flair. So, I’m seriously thinking of adding some color. I don’t like the gray tinging my edges. I also don’t like the commercial hair dyes on the store shelves. I was toying with the idea of maybe trying henna. Having only dyed my hair once in my life, I honestly don’t know where to begin. I called a friend to get her take on the henna since she had used it. Surprisingly, she suggested something called ‘Amla’. I never heard of it. I was in my car headed out to get it when I decided to proceed with caution.

Blogs, they say are supposed to offer information, suggestions, and all that good stuff. Trust me, I plan to do just that. But right now I would like to hear from those of you with first-hand knowledge of this ‘Amla’ before I go slapping it on my head. I’ve voyaged out in cyberspace and encountered a plethora of ‘Amla’ information, testimonials and all. Still, I would like to hear your opinion on the stuff.

A hardly used road I walk in my neighborhood.

In the meantime, let me leave you with this inspirational tidbit – at least I hope you find it inspiring. It’s gorgeous here where I live in North Carolina. A word of caution though. The pollen is plentiful as the trees are in full bloom. Unless your sinuses or some other ailment prevent your going out of doors, I say pay the park a visit or simply walk around your neighborhood.

If you opt out of taking a walk, do at least ten minutes of some sort of exercise. Just ten minutes is beneficial if you get your heart rate going. Try dancing, jumping jacks, running in place, or combine them all. Your heart will thank you.

And if you stress a lot like I do, remember you can’t stress and exercise at the same time.  So get moving.

I am diabetic. I have high blood pressure. I am carrying too much weight due to the sedentary lifestyle I once led. But if the Lord took me this very moment, at least I would leave this world

FEELING LIKE SPRINGTIME.

A park where I walk.