Whew! Last night was quite the night. I must say I am amazed and feel very happy and honored at the wonderful turnout and excitement around kale in Paris! Verjus not only did one dish of kale but actually incorporated kale into each of their bar menu items. It was a true kale takeover. I will share it all properly next week… in the meantime, I want to introduce Olivia from Oh-la-la-livia for this week’s For The Love of Kale.
Olivia, like most of you, found The Kale Project through social media and blogging and said she wanted to do a cooking/blogging date with kale when it finally came to fruition in Paris. Luckily, with the bounty from Joël, we were able to plan our cooking date much earlier than either of us thought.
Not only do Olivia and her boyfriend have the movie-perfect kitchen, Olivia knows her stuff about vegetables and good food and I definitely learned a thing or two from her. Originally from Australia, her parents got her into healthy foods and healthy baking. She’s always updating her blog with new treats to try at home both savory and sweet.
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Describe what kale tastes like in one sentence.
An explosion of green, nutty goodness in the mouth.
When was the first time you tried kale?
Probably around the age of 12 when my parents started growing it in their garden.
What is your favorite way to prepare kale?
Am I only allowed to choose one? I love it in smoothies to feel the raw boost kick, I love cutting it fine and cooking it in coconut oil with grated zucchini for a pasta sauce, and I really enjoy it raw in salads, like the salad we made together! [Which I can’t wait to share on Kale Monday!]
If you were preparing kale for a kale virgin, what would you do?
When I introduced my homme to it, who is not really as into veggies as I would like (I’m working on it! I hide things in his food and he doesn’t even know), I made him the pasta sauce I mentioned above and he loved it to pieces. Another one of my favourites is kale pesto. I think I will make that next week because it is so full of goodness, and is perfect coming into winter here in France.
What is the perception of kale in Australia?
I am from Melbourne which has been coined the gastronomical city of the southern hemisphere, so people are real foodies. All my friends are into health and trying new things and the organic/raw/local produce movement in Melbourne is really taking off. Kale is quite easy to find, and because of the climate in Melbourne also quite easy to grow. With the Asian influence in Australia people often stri fry it and eat it in the ways I mentioned above. Kale chips are also a huge hit!
Thank you to everyone again for making this week so great!
Checking out Oh-la-la-livia for healthy AND tasty recipes.
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Lindsey Tramuta (@LostNCheeseland) says
Olivia, you can make me that pasta dish full of kale any time! Great little interview ladies.
ohliviac says
I would be thrilled to!
kristen says
Thanks Lindsey! Sounds like there are a few kale demos that we can do soon!
Meg says
Looks fab! I love the sneaking kale into pasta sauce for the homme. Clever! This really does need to be findable in Paris. GAH!