Kale Salad

You never know where your next inspiration will come from. One evening I stopped by our local WM to pick up a few items. I was rolling through the produce section, heading for the deli to get my hands on some proscuitto when lo and behold I saw this incredible looking salad in the deli section. I immediately bought a small bowl to see if it tasted as pretty as it looked.

This isn't an exact replica of what I bought but this is what I made a couple of days later. I have cooked with kale, but have never used it as a lettuce substitute in a salad. It's a really hearty leaf. When you eat it, it's not watery like iceberg lettuce and a slightly more substantial than Romaine. I could have been my imagination, but it seemed to be more filling. As better fruit produce is available, I'll be substituting the dried blueberries with fresh and experimenting with different vinaigrettes. I didn't measure what I mixed, but tried to get a nice blend of a little bit of everything in every bite.

INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch of Kale
Mixed, dried berries (cherries, blueberries and cranberries)
Match stick carrots
Sliced almonds
Pine nuts
Small purple onion
Raspberry viniagrette

 Remove the stem from the kale and chop.

 Rinse the chopped kale and drain very well. There's a lot of hiding places for water, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time for draining.

 In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Add vinaigrette and toss with tongs until all is well coated. 

Refrigerate and let chill for at least an hour before eating.
Add additional dressing, if desired, when served.