Buddhist Kale Salad

There was a Buddhist temple right in the most Polish of all places outside of Poland; Hamtramck, Michigan. I used to love to go there because they made this amazing kale salad. I wanted to make it myself, but they didn't have a cook book, and I could never get anyone to give me the recipe. I definitely work better with recipes.  

However, they did list the ingredients on the label. So I pieced this together, and it's stood the test of time.

Here goes...

Ingredients

Salad

• Curly Kale. A good sized bunch. 
• Juice from 1/2 lemon.  
• Pinch of salt.
• 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa. You can use a little more if you like. I usually do. 
• Chopped almonds. I usually have some raw almonds laying around because I'm a healthy snacker like that, so I just grab a handful and chop 'em up, but you can get the fancy sliced kind if you like. 
  

Dressing

• 1-1/2 tbsp avocado oil
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
•  1/2 clove garlic
• 1/2 tbsp tamari
• 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
• Black pepper to taste
• Dash of red pepper flakes, if you're into that

Recipe

1. MASSAGE THE KALE, for the love of all things holy! Too many times, you get a kale salad in a restaurant, and you wind up with a cramp in your jaw from chewing it. You don't need that kind of stress in your life, so massage your kale. 
2. Tear the kale into bite size pieces in a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon over it and sprinkle a little salt. Get your hands in there and massage it Bugs Bunny style like that old cartoon. Remember that on Saturday mornings? Good times. Anyway, it'll turn a bright green color, and that's when you know it's good to go. 
3. Next add your cooked quinoa and almonds to the bowl.
4. If you haven't put all the ingredients for the dressing in a little bowl and mixed it up, do that now. Then Pour 1/2 the dressing on it, and mix everything up really well. Make sure the dressing get's all through the quinoa so you don't have any bland bites. 
5. Taste it, and add more dressing so it tastes like you want. 

That's it. Makes a great main or side. 

Disclaimer and invitation.

Some of you know a lot more about cooking that I do. If you have any ideas or modifications for the dressing, comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I'll credit you in the cook book, due to release in 2035.