Thank You, Billy the Produce Guy

I don't really love going to the grocery store.  Before we got a Wegman's here in town, it was REALLY bad.  There are few places as uninspiring as the Safeway by my house.  Going there sort of makes you not want to eat food anymore. Wegman's is great, and makes shopping much better, but when all is said and done, it's still really just a chore.  So, when I have to go, I like to have a plan, get in there, get what I need, and get out as soon as possible. This is much easier when I go by myself.  Taking people along creates grocery store drag.

This weekend, I ended up having to take Daphne with me to the store.  On Saturday afternoon, even.  Wegman's is at its most crowded on Saturday afternoon.  I was filled with dread.  So, in hopes of making things easier, and since Daphne can read now, I decided to give her the job of checking things off my list.  I told her to get a pencil because we had a "mission."  I don't know what I will do when tricks like that stop working.

Long story short, for me, this was one of the most fun trips to the grocery store in the history of shopping.  Daphne sat in the cart with the list and her pencil, all business, checking things off and making tally marks if we got more than one of something.  Wegman's was having an organic foods festival, so they had lots of samples and little give-aways.  With all the free pink lemonade and rooster tattoos, everyone was on good behavior, and no one was whining, complaining, or asking for toys and candy the whole time.

Our last stop was the produce section, and after we got everything we needed, we decided to check out the "weird food" endcap by the bananas.  This is where they keep unusual things like aloe leaves and cactus leaves and plantains and weird squashes and so forth.  I told Daphne that she could pick something from the section and take it home and try it for a Star Wars point.  After much deliberation, she narrowed it down to either a kiwi or a starfruit, but then she couldn't decide. I figured this was going to take all afternoon.  But that's when I spotted Billy, the produce guy.

I like Billy the produce guy a lot.  I have asked him questions before and he is always a big help.  So I told Daphne we'd get an expert to help her decide.  I wheeled her over and we told Billy that she wanted be adventurous and try something new, but she couldn't decide between the kiwi and the starfruit.  He played right along.  He told her he's never had a starfruit, so could she please try it and come back and tell him how it tastes?  Decision made.  Then, he told us that if we wanted to be even more adventurous, we should get some kale to take home and make kale chips.  And Daphne got so excited that the "Owner of Wegman's" was talking to us, that she insisted we get some kale right away.  OK!  I wonder if Billy the produce guy could get Daphne to eat melty cheese?  I almost think he could do it.

Anyway, we went home with our kale and decided to make the chips right away to go with the last of our pasta fagioli leftovers.  I was completely suspicious of this recipe, but they were really good!  I let Daphne make them pretty much by herself.  First, you rinse and dry the kale and tear it into chip-sized pieces, getting rid of the stems.  Then you toss it with olive oil and salt:

Then, spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet:

And bake them at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes until they are crispy:

Kale is a superfood.  Low in calories, and really high in nutritional value.  Tons of Vitamin A. 

I will definitely make this again as a snack or side dish.  Super easy and tasty.  I overdid it on the salt a little, so I'll watch that next time.  And I may try to sneak in some parmesan cheese next time too.  If you Google kale chips, there are lots of ideas for seasoning out there.  And at least one person crumbled them up on some popcorn.  Sounds weird, I know, but I bet it's good.

So, there you go.  Kale chips.  Thank you, Billy the produce guy.  We'll see you soon with a starfruit review.