How Can I Be Hearty and Hale?

Answer: EAT MORE KALE!

Up until a few months ago, I was a kale virgin. It wasn't something we ate growing up, and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between collard greens (are they the same as mustard greens?) and swiss chard and kale and several other leafy greens in a certain section of the produce department. I think I read something about kale's many virtues and went in search of a recipe that sounded doable. Coincidentally, around the same time, I saw someone on the Food Network make a raw kale salad. It looked intriguing, but I wasn't sold on the mango she was including. Honestly, it would never have occurred to me to serve kale raw because it looks so-well-tough and unapproachable. The food show host actually massaged the kale, and I am gratefully borrowing her technique here. WARNING: This is a HANDS ON recipe and NOT for those of you who don't like playing with your food!
The original recipe came from Weight Watchers, but I've shifted things around a bit. I think they used shallots, and I use garlic and I've increased the amount of lemon juice by a lot because I LOVE the taste of lemon!
Ingredients:
1 large bunch or 2 small bunches of KALE
( there are several varieties of kale in the markets these days; I've tried several in this
recipe and they all worked just fine.)
6 large cloves of GARLIC (feel free to use less if you aren't a strong garlic lover)
1 cup freshly squeezed LEMON JUICE (it took me about 7 smallish lemons to
get that today).
 Zest of one large LEMON (or two smaller lemons)
3 1/2 Tablespoons HONEY
3/4 Cup of EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
1 1/2 - 2 cups shaved PARMESAN CHEESE
1 teaspoon each SALT & PEPPER

STEPS:
#1 Cut the kale leaves away from the tough stems. There are a couple ways to do this. You can take a sharp knife and shave the leaves from the stalk or you can fold the leaf in half and cut the leaf away from the stem. Either way, you want to separate the woody stalk from the tender leaves.
#2 Throw all the leaves into a large colander and rinse thoroughly. Let them air dry while you make the dressing. THE LEAVES SHOULD BE COMPLETELY DRY WHEN YOU MIX THEM WITH THE DRESSING.

#3 Now it's time to squeeze those lemons and add the lemon juice to the other dressing ingredients:
LEMON ZEST
HONEY
Crushed GARLIC (it should be as close to pureed as you can get it)
SALT/PEPPER
Now, slowly stream in the
OLIVE OIL as you whisk the dressing together.
#4 Next, make sure the kale is completely dry and cut it into thin slices (chiffonades). Each piece of kale should be a yummy bite-size morsel of green goodness.
#5 Make sure your hands are clean--this is the fun part! Pour the dressing over the kale and start massaging the dressing into the leaves. You only need to to do this for about 2 minutes to soften the tough fibers.
#6 Next, add the parmesan cheese and you are ready to serve!
This salad is quite hearty and leftovers can be refrigerated and enjoyed the following day without fear of sogginess!

Bon Appetite!
Rachel