Kelp Noodles in Almond Sauce

Kelp noodles! Have you ever heard of such thing? Until last week, I had not. I can't even remember what turned me on to it (probably my favorite vegan blogger Janet, again) I just knew I had to try them as soon as I could.

But what do you do with kelp noodles? They come refrigerated in a bag, filled with water, and you have to rinse them. Then what?

Then you eat them. It's that simple. They're crunchy and salty. Fat-free, gluten-free, low in carbs, calories, etc etc. So are they any good?

Because I didn't know, I decided to update my Peanut Sauce Dressing with almond butter and let them swim in it. I knew that it, at least, is very tasty.

Making almond butter is simple. You simply put a couple cups of almonds in your food processor and let it run for 15 minutes, until the oil is extruded and it all blends together into creaminess. Katie from Dishin & Dishes has an excellent photo tutorial on the process.

Adding in some julienned cucumbers and edamame, the end result:

Lunch. Simple. Excellent.

Kelp noodles can be found in the refrigerated section of your local Whole Foods (at least here in Los Angeles, your mileage may vary), or online directly from the Sea Tangle Noodle Company. The company also makes an organic green tea variety. Though I am usually game to try anything at least once, this just doesn't appeal to me.

If you try it, let us know how that works out for you.

Semi-Raw Kale Experiment

I love kale. At least, I thought I did because I've only ever had it cooked in some manner. My mom makes a wonderful dish with kale and swiss chard, but again, it's cooked. And kale chips! Those are delicioso!

Then I tried it raw one day and almost immediately spit it out. It's not quite the same. At all. Apparently the only cruciferous veggie I can handle raw is daikon...I think I've eaten raw. But, in any case, kale is full of health benefits, so it must be eaten.

It's no wonder kids don't like vegetables...

And then I came across Janet's post over at The Taste Space, Almost Raw Asian Kale and Edamame Salad. It calls for marinating the kale in a lime juice for a bit. I figure this ceviche-like treatment would help "cook" it so it was worth trying.

I'm not one for vegan food. It's not a lifestyle I could ever adhere to, since I love cheese. And MEAT! But The Taste Space has some interesting recipes I've been eager to try, and this kale edamame salad was truly simple. And a good test of semi-raw kale.

As I suspected, the lime juice really does "cook" the bitterness out of the kale. The added benefit of sour lime juice is a bonus, since I love all things sour.

Janet suggests slicing the kale thinly, so I made kale chiffonade. It's so pretty! And yummy! Win!

For Janet's recipe, please click here.

It also works REALLY well with spinach. Spinach chiffonade! Pretty! Yummy! More win!