Juicing with Kale

My bud Shmal and I have planted some kale we bought from Farmer John at the Gainesville Alachua County Farmer's Market at Bo Diddly Square. Shmal said to me "Hey, Mike - this seems like ornamental kale. I don't know whether it's edible." So, I walked over and took a look. Then, I took a bite. Sure enough, it was very rough and fibrous. I asked Farmer John and he said "It's all ornamental. But, it's definitely edible".

So, we have some beautiful kale. 

Matt Hunt found some juice called "Mahalopeno" with kale, jalapeno, pineaple and cucumber  at a place in San Francisco. Sounds delicious.

So, I did a little investigation and found these other trendy recipes at Living Greens in San Francisco.

I don't have a juicer like the one above. Most of my friends with juicers have this kind, usually an Omega brand.
I have a blender, a pressure juicer and a centrifugal juicer.

I had a lever juicer once, but it went the way of all things that just disappear. That juicer was in Cochabamba, Bolivia in the photo above.

I have a juicer like the one above for my citrus. Works like a champ.

Matt points out that Time has an article about juicing in a recent issue (only available to read online with a membership)

Obie Fernandez likes smoothies. He makes one with papaya that looks like an amazing breakfast treat:

This Champion juicer is probably the most popular juicer among my friends. But, you don't have to get fancy and it's not complicated. Just find a way to extract juice from fruit and veg, then use your imagination with combinations. 

What's your fav today?

Update: I just rode the trusty Bianchi (another story) to the supermarket to get some papaya and yoghurt, granola and pineapple. Well, the granola is $6/lb and I looked at the ingredients: mainly oats, flax seed, honey, cinnamon, etc...all stuff I can find in my kitchen. Now, it's nice to have the convenience of something pre-fabricated, but it also has a lot more sugar and some preservatives I just don't need. Plus, oats are about $0.80/lb for organic, last time I checked. 

I am not poor, and I am not the 1% either (surprise!) but I would rather spend my money on fun stuff than on some lazy way out of getting a buzz from doing it myself (DIY) if I have the time. It's all about that "Which would you rather do: be invited to the party or throw it yourself?" thing for me. So, I skipped the granola. 

I did get a nice papaya. The label fell off so I can't tell where it's from. 

I got a pineapple, too. It's a Del Monte and it's from Costa Rica. Hey, I noticed it has a QR code on the label:

Do you know what a QR code is? It's a graphic you can scan with a QR code reader app on a smart phone and you'll be taken to a website. See it above? It's in the lower right corner or the label. It's a square graphic with three dots (to help the QR code reader align). This one takes you to www.FreshDelMonte.com and a little story about pineapples. I'd be interested in whether you have ever heard of a QR code...I have a good reason to ask you this question. I am thinking of creating a social piece of software that may use a QR code...but, I digress!

Stay tuned - time for a smoothie!

The finished product. It's a drink you can sink your teeth into. Last time I checked, it cost around $5 for one of these at the local juice bar. All it took to make this was a nice bike ride, one where I met a friend on the way to the store <bonus>, a little time to chop and blend, and voila! Enough left for company...