It’s been so warm here lately, it feels like summer!
Actually, it sort of feels like we went from the harshness of super cold winter straight to the comforting warmth of a hot and humid summer day. My hyacinths and tulips have already started to emerge, buds are bursting open, birds are singing… this is all way too much too soon.
It feels like the middle of June and it’s not even April yet.
While it will be hard to get back to reality when the cold and snow hits again (‘cuz of course, it will) this sure feels nice for the time being and we need to enjoy it while it lasts.
Of course, this sort of weather makes me want to whip out the barbecue and grill me some veggies. I have this HUGE eggplant in the fridge that’s just waiting to be used up. I get the feeling that grilled eggplant will be on the menu this week-end. With goat cheese and walnuts, perhaps? Oh yum!
But hey, let’s not get carried away here… Let me shift back for a bit and focus on this gorgeous salad, that just literally has health and summer written all over it.
Just one look in its direction and you’re immediately transported to a gorgeous, warm and sunny summer day…
Don’t you agree?
I don’t know if you’ve also noticed that, but it seems to me like kale has been everywhere lately. It must’ve really gotten to my brain because I suddenly decided that I needed to give this supervegetable another try. I say another try because I’ve never been really big on this rather firm and peppery “lettuce”. Or is it considered cabbage?
I’ll have to research that…
Anywho… Now that I’ve tried it again, I really fail to see why I didn’t really care for it. I mean wow! Talk about texture AND flavor! Now this is a lettuce that really gives you something to chew on. It will turn any salad into an incredibly satsfying meal, for you get the feeling that you are eating forever!
And when you’re eating something as good as this salad, well, eating forever CAN”T be a bad thing.
Go ahead, give kale another try!
I bet you’ll love it!
KALE GRAPEFRUIT AND SHRIMP SALAD
INGREDIENTS
(Serves 2)
- 3 cups kale, shredded
- 2 grapefruits, supremed
- 1 avocado, diced
- 10 Brazil nuts, chopped
- 24 cooked shrimp, tail removed
- The juice of above grapefruits (about ½ cup)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp fresh ginger, grated
- ¼ tsp guar gum
DIRECTIONS
- Cut the grapefruits into supremes, working over a bowl, in order not lose any of the juice. When you’ve got all your supremes done, make sure to squeeze all the juice out of the “membranes” that are left behind. You should be able to get about ½ cup of juice out of your grapefruits.
- Transfer that juice to your mini blender or food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients for the dressing and blend until smooth. Set aside
- Cut your grapefruit supremes into bite size pieces and add them to a medium size mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the dressing, and stir until well combined.
- Divide between 2 serving plates and serve immediately.
I will definitely be making this one. I’m relatively new to kale myself. I first started putting it in my smoothies but I really fell in love with it when I made baked kale chips…delicious!!
Kale in smoothies? Ooooh… now I gotta try this!
It has been almost TOO warm if you ask me. I’m not ready to turn on my AC quite yet!
I simply CANNOT LOCATE Kale here in the France/Switzerland border area…..Is curly french green cabbage “chou vert frisé” an acceptable substitute?..or the Italian “Cima di Rapa”?…..This looks perfect for this time of year…Thanks for any enlightenment!
Hey Donna! Not sure what kind of chou frisé you are referring to here. The way I understand it, Kale is known as “chou vert frisé” in French, but then again, so is “chou de savoie”, so it’s a little confusing. Regardless, I think that it would be a good option.
As for rapini, I’m thinking that it might be a tad too bitter for this salad. But then again, Kale also has a somewhat bitter taste, and the acid in the grapefruit really helps tone it down as well as soften up its firm texture, so it might very well work its magic with rapini also.
Worth trying, I guess. I say it can’t be bad!
Wow, this looks absolutely amazing. I need more kale in my life…we grow it in the summer, but it’s so pricey at the supermarket!
I like the pairing of shrimp with this too! Looks great!
P.S. I’m having a natural beauty giveaway at my site right now!
We’re loving the weather here in New England too! Didn’t get to fire up the grill, but we did splurge on fro-yo instead of dinner last night. I know I should have preceded it with something amazingly healthy and delish like this salad!
Well, fro-yo isn’t so bad, really, so long as it’s not loaded with sugar and other unhealthy “treats”. It is very possible to turn it into a super healthy treat! Such as Pink Grapferuit, Pistachio and Honey Frozen Yogurt? Now that sounds yummy! Gotta remember that one. Hey, thanks for inspiring this, Cara!