First Annual International Kale Day Party in Guatemala

K is for Kale

For those of you who love their greens, last night's potluck dinner was one for the history books.

The Feast:
Dehydrated Kale Chips with Parmesan
Kale and Artichoke Dip
Kale Deviled Eggs
Baked Kale Chips with Sea Salt and Sesame Oil
Asian Kale Sitr Fry with Tofu on White Rice
Guicoyitos Stuffed with Kale, Black Beans and Queso Fresco in Tomato Sauce
Imitation Kale (aka spinach) and Mushroom Fritata
and,
drum role....
Kale and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

The leafy green that we were celebrating, in case you haven't guessed, was Kale.

We gathered at the apartment of a friend, dressed in our finest green shirts, belts and hair ties with a Kale-inspired playlist and some fine Argentine and Chilean wines (since those are the cheaper bottles down here in the GT, awesome!).

There was much laughter at the stories told of hilarious conversations in the local grocery stores.
"Tiene col rizada?"   col rizada = kale
"Si, tenemos coliflor."   coliflor = cauliflower
"No no, col riz-a-da.... es verde, como lechuga?"
"Coliflor?"

"My favorite corner green grocer Super Verduras had 3 varieties!" I bragged disbelievingly.

There were toasts of love and reverence, and prayers that someday everyone in the world would know the joys of a kale-rich diet. We guessed that we were all witnessing the one and only Kale Party in the entire country that night, and agreed that there were probably Kale Parties in every neighborhood up in Portland...

As the clock struck 10 and everyone was glowing with a happy Kale high, our friend who was also our ride home began nervously checking her phone. Her Kale-Dealer, Juan Carlos, was trying to deliver her weekly order to her apartment but she wasn't there.

"No frigin' way! You have a guy who delivers Kale to your door at 10 o'clock at night?!"

"Yes! He is so awesome! He has all this other organic produce too and he is a total Moringa-freak and last week he gave me a sandwich so I could try the Moringa bread he makes!" **

With an important Kale mission to attend to, we said our goodbyes and dispersed into the night with smiles and hugs and extremely full tummies.

You really can find kindred spirits anywhere in the world...

And in case you want to celebrate this mighty green next year, Kale Day is the first Wednesday in October.


**Goji... acai... chia... nope. Moringa is the new miracle plant, it's a tree whose leaves have 7x the vitamin C of oranges, 4x the vitamin A of carrots, plus a ton of calcium and potassium.