Kale Chips.....Seriously!

Recently our friend Paul asked if I had ever made kale chips.  Kale chips?  As in the leafy green my grandfather used to grow in his garden??  And chip as in a, um, chip??  “They’re quite good,” he assured us in his British accent.  Hmmm….I thought.  In all my cooking and perusing of cookbooks and reading recipes, I’ve never heard of a kale chip.

Intrigued, I asked how he made them.  “It’s quite simple, really.  Cut the leaves into pieces, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake them at 350 for about 10 minutes,” he said.  He assured me that would be like a potato chip.  I was a little skeptical and wondered what I might be getting myself into.

Never having had a dish is all the reason I need to venture out, buy the ingredients, and give it a whirl.  Off to the Madison Farmer’s Market I went and was delighted to find fresh kale.  The vendor asked what I was about to make with it and I questioningly told him kale chips and explained that a friend had told me about them and I was curious.  He smiled and picked up a recipe card from his table with a recipe for kale chips.  Ok, so Paul wasn’t making this up.

I washed and rinsed the leaves and cut them into pieces.  Tossed them with olive oil and some smoked sea-salt.  Popped them in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes.  Pulled them out and was totally amazed that they were actually getting crispy!  No way!  I popped them back into the oven for about 2 more minutes to crisp them some more.

After they were nicely crisped I popped one right in my mouth.  It was warm , crispy and salty just like a potato chip!  A turnip greenish flavored potato chip!  I loved them.  My husband walked in, sampled one and said, “Tastes like cabbage.  They’re all yours.” 

The flavor of the kale took me right back to my grandmother’s kitchen.  My grandparents grew a variety of greens and kale reminded me of a cross between a turnip green and mustard leaves.  I remember eating it fresh right from their garden many times. 

A couple of things I learned....next time bake them on a rack so the heat can circulate above and below.  I think it will make a crisper chip.  Secondly, they are not crispy the next day so don’t plan for leftovers.  

And next time, I’m going to sprinkle them with a little Dove Chocolate Discoveries™ Sweet ‘N Spicy Cocoa Rub for a touch of sweet and spicy deliciousness. 

3-2-1 Action!

Our day of live media interviews began at a very early 4am.  Considering it was 4am EST, it was really 3am for me and was my second day in a row of getting up before dawn.  It was the opportunity of a lifetime so I decided the lack of sleep would be worth it.  But now I not only had to worry about my flat hair but worry about the bags under my eyes.  Oh yeah, and then there was the whole message I had to be sure and deliver on camera. 

We arrived at the home office test kitchen at 5:30am with no make-up as instructed.  We all made a pact that no photos would be taken until after hair and make-up.  There were people buzzing all around, a huge satellite truck out front, people running around like it was a major production.  Oh wait, it was!  We would be live all across the country in just 2 hours!

I was second in the chair for hair and make-up.  I carefully instructed the stylist, Elizabeth, that I needed some “puff” in my hair.  She was amazing.  As we chatted I learned that she had been an art student and had done sculpture and painting.  Whew!  Sculpt my hair into a masterpiece, please!  We chatted about clients she had done before and I had my second diva moment of the event when I learned I was being made up by someone who had also made up Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, and a number of celebrities.  My first diva moment came the day before when Andrew, the producer, had asked my requirements for breakfast the morning of the shoot.  Hehe…..my requirements.  Of course I went total diva and asked for…..coffee.  Yep, just coffee.  I giggled like a little kid when I heard them refer to us as “the talent”.  I love my job!

So Betty Palm, the DCD President, and I were up first with an interview in San Diego.  It went well and amazingly fast!  Wow!  This is fun!  Next up we were on Breakfast With Bob a radio program in Roanoke, Va.  Tums out, Bob had lived in Huntsville for years and was a real pleasure to chat with.  After the first couple of interviews, Elizabeth stepped in to freshen our hair and make-up.  She said, “You flattened your hair on top, didn’t you?”

After a radio interview in Greenville, SC and a tv interview in Atlanta, I was able to take a break for a while and watch my fellow chocolatiers do their interviews.  We all filmed a commercial together and after completing one more tv interview with Shreveport, that wrapped up my day of interviewing.  Time to relax and let my hair down……..

Media Training-Intense!

Just over two years ago when I “discovered” Dove Chocolate Discoveries™ online, I knew I was on to something big.  I couldn’t believe there was such thing as a chocolate tasting party, let alone, people who were paid to conduct the parties.  Not to mention the brand was Dove® which had an unparalleled reputation for being top-notch.  I literally felt like I had won the career lottery!  I started my chocolate career with the idea that I just wanted to have fun and bring a little happiness into people’s lives by sharing with them exclusive chocolates they couldn’t buy anywhere else.  Fast forward two years later and there are many days I wake up and think, “Is this all real?”  When I started my business I never dreamed it would take me down such an amazing path with opportunities I never could have imagined.

One of those opportunities happened recently when I had the chance to represent the company on a national media public relations campaign.  To prepare for the live tv and radio segments we each had to take a media training class.  It was one of the most intense things I have done!  We had to craft our message into a 1-minute commercial.  Now, I have been doing elevator speeches for years and have done both live and recorded tv segments but there were times during training that I wondered if I would even be able to get my name out on camera!  I went in confident of speaking in front of anyone to wondering if I could even remember my own name when asked. 

What had training done to me?  Would I be able to get thru the interviews?  Would I remember my name?  Would I deliver my message?  What if the reporter asked a tough question?  What if I goofed up?  What if I froze?  Would my hair look flat?  Yep, flat hair was covered in media training.  Yikes!

I was mentally exhausted when the day was over and was in bed at 8:30pm.  By 12:30am I was wide awake and woke myself up rehearsing my message but most importantly wondering who my hairstylist would be that day.  Would she be able to cure my flat hair?  Would I have big 80’s hair?  Would I look like me?  What was I going to wear?  At least if I totally froze on camera and forgot my name, I wanted to look ok doing it!  Again, exhausted I rolled back over and went back to sleep.

I had a week to rehearse my speech, some new clothes but no idea what I was going to do with my flat hair………