Kale Salads

I know I am picking up on this "foodie trend" a year or two after it popped up on cooking blogs everywhere, but I do have to say, it was this recipe from 101 Cookbooks that finally convinced me to start chopping up a head of tender lacinato kale. Now that I've had a chance to study a few more kale salad recipes, I've figured out that the essential combination for a summer version of this salad is kale and avocado. The texture combination is just amazing. And, really, any salad with avocado just cannot be that bad. I made a few tweaks to the original recipe -- I don't have a food processor or a blender that works really great, so I left the dressing "deconstructed" -- basically the spring onions and the extra bit of avocado are left intact. Instead of farro, I've used warm azuki beans or lentils du Puy. The warmth of the freshly-cooked beans will also help soften the kale just a little bit. Sliced radishes also make a good substitute for fennel.