Black Beans & Kale

If you have not figured it out yet... Kale is my favorite veggie... I juice it, cook with it. Because it does not have a strong flavor... you can adapt it to just about anything. Kale is a form of cabbage, it falls under the same family as broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and Brussels sprouts. It is a natural anti-inflammatory and is jam packed with antioxidants which have been known to prevent cancer. Kale is also a great source of Indole-3 Carbinol which is known to be beneficial in cell repair... so all in all there are plenty of reasons to eat more Kale.  My favorite way to eat Kale is with beans... any kind really... Pinto, Lentils, Black Beans.  Here is one of my favorite recipes.

So first you have to cook your beans...

2 Cups of Black Beans, sorted, cleaned and washed

Soak the Black Beans overnight if possible, but a couple of hours will do fine.

After they have soaked, rinse the water in put in a pot with about  8 cups of water... (NOTE: if during the cooking process the water runs low add more hot water.)

Cook until the beans are soft... this time will vary depending on how long you soaked the beans... just taste them every so often. I do not salt my beans until they are done soaking... so at this point you can salt to taste.  Set the beans aside. Next you will need...

1 Whole Onion, Chopped

1 Whole Bunch of Kale, ribs and steams removed

1 Whole Roma Tomato, chopped

3 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1/2 Teaspoon Oregano

Heat the oil and add all the veggies... Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the beans, liquid and all. Adjust the salt and pepper at this point and add the Oregano

Cook for about 8 minutes

Serve over some brown (my choice) or white rice.