curried kale chips

So here are today's finished kale chip.These are very different than the other chips. The other chips were delicate and fragile, translucent and emerald green(I used curly regular old kale). They tasted of kale only sweet and vinegary and salty. These are more akin to hippie food. The kale seems to be serving as a vehicle for the sauce dried on them.( I used dinosaur kale for this batch) The dino kale is much sturdier and does not fall apart as easily when fully dried. They have a very satisfying crunch to them and the curry flavor goes nicely with the greens flavor which is kinda masked. I question the full digestability of this batch, the chips take a lot of chewing which tells me that the cell walls are pretty intact. I'm not a raw foodist so I want my veggies to have lost some of their cell structure when I eat them. I'm not a cow. But as an alternative to high carb chips or other junk snack food these are very nice. They won't stand up to dippping, but they both provide a satisfying crunch so lacking in my low carb diet.

It's been a while since I've updated my blog. The summer is whizzin' by at amazin' speed. Spencer has returned from her trip to Canada more determined to become a Canadian than ever. It has been a summer of frugal living this year so no huge projects. From the garden I have gotten a watermelon, some basil and I see that I'll have jalapenos and eggplants in a few days. The water melon is JINORMOUS, it takes up about 3/4 of the garden. I have 4 melons that I see. My tomatoes are not looking so good so I don't know if I'll get a crop out of them.
A friend moved away and bequeathed me her dehydrator. I am having a blast with it. So far I've dehydrated that watermelon I picked too early, it was flavorful but pale and not very sweet. It turned into the most delicious watermelon candy. Dehydrating watermelon seems wrong on so many levels but it really does work. I've also made kale chips. Glorious, delicious kale chips. The first batch was with curly kale and olive oil, sherry vinegar and sea salt. NOM. I pretty much ate the entire batch. Today I am making a more ambitious recipe, curried kale chips made with much less oil and tossed with a curry flavored sauce based on sunflower seeds and tomato. A very hippie, raw food inspired thing. It smells wonderful but I am skeptical about the raw food aspect. So often Raw foodists dont' seem to see food as a pleasure and a sensual endeavor. But I can't knock them until I've tried them. So here goes. I found the recipe here:http://poxacuatl.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/kale-chips/ a beautifully photographed expose on her process.
The alcohol project is moving along although it has hit a few bumps in the road due to the economy. Had a great time working with my collaborator in June. Slow and steady.
So I leave you for now, dear reader. I smell some kale drying.