I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Captain's Log, Stardate 11.14.2011
I made collard chips yesterday, but it was because of the French fries.
I seriously love French fries. I go into withdrawal if I don’t have them once every two to three weeks or so. Captain Caffeine will actually go out and buy them for me when I start climbing up the walls.
(Incidentally, our favorites are from Yiassoo’s Greek restaurant, which for some reason has an awesome fryer and great fries, and also Kirk’s Steakburgers because their steak fries ROCK!)
We’ve gotten a lot of potatoes lately in our organic co-op, so I decided to make French fries. I got out my Fry Daddy and whipped up several batches a few times this past week.
I got so fry happy that I decided to try deep fried kale chips, which turned out absolutely completely AWESOME!!! Unfortunately I didn’t take pictures.
So then I thought I’d try collard greens and see how that tasted, and they turned out great too! They’re a bit more “green” tasting than the kale--the kale chips actually tasted a little sweet, maybe from caramelization. But the collard chips were just as crispy and tasty as the kale chips. Plus I had two huge bunches of collards and was thrilled to find a new way of eating them.
Deep Fried Collard Chips
1 bunch collard greens (One bunch of chopped collards (maybe 4 or 5 packed cups) yielded a large colander full of chips.)
Fry Daddy
Canola oil
Salt
Metal splatter screen
Metal deep frying strainer
Pour oil into the Fry Daddy up to the fill line on the inside and plug it in. Wait 15 minutes for it to heat up.
Wash collards and remove ribs. Pat dry as well as you can. Cut into about 2-inch squares.
Once those collards hit the hot oil, the water is going to make the oil boil and make a lot of noise and mess, so I put a metal splatter screen over my Fry Daddy. I load a metal deep frying strainer with chopped collards, then quickly lift up the splatter screen, dump the collards in the Fry Daddy and replace the splatter screen as fast as possible. The first time it happens, the boiling oil sounds massively scary, but you’re okay as long as you have the splatter screen on top.
Let it fry for about 1 minute.
Remove the collards into a metal colander set into a metal bowl to catch the dripping oil. Wait a little while for the chips to drip before sprinkling with salt, tossing with the metal strainer, and then moving the chips to a new bowl.
I wanted to know approximate nutritional value and guessed that kale/collard chips compare (oil-wise) to potato chips. One ounce of potato chips has 9.8 grams of fat, and since potatoes by themselves have no fat, I think it’s safe to guess that the fat is all from the frying. 9.8 grams of fat equates to 0.7 tablespoon of oil per ounce of potato chips.
Going by the potassium and carb levels, one ounce of potato chips equates to approximately 0.6 cup of raw potatoes.
So when I was adding the collard chips into my SparkPeople nutrition diary, I added 0.6 cup collards plus 0.7 tablespoon oil for every ounce of collard chips I ate, and I think it’s close enough.
Two ounces of collard chips ended up being approximately 190 calories, 3 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of fat, and 1 gram of protein.
Here is a collander of fried collard chips.
And of course, Snickers was waiting with bated breath for droppage to occur.
I made collard chips yesterday, but it was because of the French fries.
I seriously love French fries. I go into withdrawal if I don’t have them once every two to three weeks or so. Captain Caffeine will actually go out and buy them for me when I start climbing up the walls.
(Incidentally, our favorites are from Yiassoo’s Greek restaurant, which for some reason has an awesome fryer and great fries, and also Kirk’s Steakburgers because their steak fries ROCK!)
We’ve gotten a lot of potatoes lately in our organic co-op, so I decided to make French fries. I got out my Fry Daddy and whipped up several batches a few times this past week.
I got so fry happy that I decided to try deep fried kale chips, which turned out absolutely completely AWESOME!!! Unfortunately I didn’t take pictures.
So then I thought I’d try collard greens and see how that tasted, and they turned out great too! They’re a bit more “green” tasting than the kale--the kale chips actually tasted a little sweet, maybe from caramelization. But the collard chips were just as crispy and tasty as the kale chips. Plus I had two huge bunches of collards and was thrilled to find a new way of eating them.
Deep Fried Collard Chips
1 bunch collard greens (One bunch of chopped collards (maybe 4 or 5 packed cups) yielded a large colander full of chips.)
Fry Daddy
Canola oil
Salt
Metal splatter screen
Metal deep frying strainer
Pour oil into the Fry Daddy up to the fill line on the inside and plug it in. Wait 15 minutes for it to heat up.
Wash collards and remove ribs. Pat dry as well as you can. Cut into about 2-inch squares.
Once those collards hit the hot oil, the water is going to make the oil boil and make a lot of noise and mess, so I put a metal splatter screen over my Fry Daddy. I load a metal deep frying strainer with chopped collards, then quickly lift up the splatter screen, dump the collards in the Fry Daddy and replace the splatter screen as fast as possible. The first time it happens, the boiling oil sounds massively scary, but you’re okay as long as you have the splatter screen on top.
Let it fry for about 1 minute.
Remove the collards into a metal colander set into a metal bowl to catch the dripping oil. Wait a little while for the chips to drip before sprinkling with salt, tossing with the metal strainer, and then moving the chips to a new bowl.
I wanted to know approximate nutritional value and guessed that kale/collard chips compare (oil-wise) to potato chips. One ounce of potato chips has 9.8 grams of fat, and since potatoes by themselves have no fat, I think it’s safe to guess that the fat is all from the frying. 9.8 grams of fat equates to 0.7 tablespoon of oil per ounce of potato chips.
Going by the potassium and carb levels, one ounce of potato chips equates to approximately 0.6 cup of raw potatoes.
So when I was adding the collard chips into my SparkPeople nutrition diary, I added 0.6 cup collards plus 0.7 tablespoon oil for every ounce of collard chips I ate, and I think it’s close enough.
Two ounces of collard chips ended up being approximately 190 calories, 3 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of fat, and 1 gram of protein.
And of course, Snickers was waiting with bated breath for droppage to occur.
Comments
I love sweet potato chips and fries, so I might have to give these a try.
Your creativity extends beyond your books and into the kitchen!
Thanks for sharing.