Kale Recipe and Website

Kale is proclaimed to be a "super food" by doctors, dietitians, and nutrition specialists worldwide with the leafy green being packed with vitamins and minerals.  Diana Dyer, MS, RD, a cancer survivor, organic gardener/farmer, and registered dietitian in Michigan runs a blog dedicated solely to Kale, 365 Days of Kale.  Ms. Dyer pens some interesting scientific facts about the powers of food - her websites are worth a read, but especially 365 Days of Kale if you like the leafy green.  Kale is super-easy to grow and will be around all summer.  I typically have an overabundance of kale and am always looking for ways to use it.   My first recipe to try from this website was Kale and Apple muffins and they were fantastic.  The muffins were moist, spicy, and with refined sugar.  Hubby said they are "OK", but he has a refined sugar-addiction.  He says I have a sugar addiction too, which I agree with him, but I prefer natural sugars like maple syrup or honey, or even fruit sugar and just plain fruit.  Honey is the sugar in the muffins with shredded apple - yum.  This is a five-star recipe in my opinion.  Here's the link.  But here's the recipe also direct from Diana's website:

APPLE AND KALE SPICE MUFFINS

* 1-1/2 C organic whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
* 1 tsp. each baking soda and baking powder
* ½ teaspoon salt
* ½ tsp. cinnamon
* ¼ tsp. nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon grated vanilla bean (or use ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)
* ⅓ C honey
* 1 egg
* ½ C sour milk or plain unflavored yogurt (I used the yogurt)
* ⅓ C canola oil
* ½ tsp. vanilla (see above)
* 1-½ C grated apples or carrots (used cored, unpeeled apples chopped in my food processor)
* 1 C finely chopped kale or raw leafy green vegetable (I took off the stems and then chopped the leaves fine in my food processor)
* ½ C each any dried fruit and chopped nuts (optional, but adds a crunch and is also nutritious and yummy enough for a dessert muffin, too!)

Preheat oven to 400.

In a mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.

In another bowl, mix honey, egg, yogurt, oil, vanilla, apples, kale, dried fruit and nuts.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring just till moistened. Fill 12 typical size greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Made 12 very full muffins.