Norml Kale Salad

This salad is hemp-a-licious, definitely one of our new favorites.  Here, we used hemp oil and whole hemp seeds so we got a lovely dose of omega 3 & 6 (conviniently in the EXACT proportion you need for optimal health...wow, thanks hemp!) as well as complete protein (plus more protein from the green leafy kale).  I use lacinato kale (a.k.a. dinosaur kale), but you could use any type you fancy.  The sweet sungold cherry tomatoes really help balance the lemon juice used in this recipe. 

NORML Kale Salad, ha ha, get it? It's so hempy ;)

Why call this Norml salad?  NORML is the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws and this salad has a lot of hemp it...get it?  I'm not a smoker, but I do know that hemp is an amazing plant that can be grown sustainably in the US (it actually grows like a weed...yuk yuk) and used to be used prolifically in the past for clothing and rope fiber and many other uses.  It's useful in so many ways, especially in this salad! (wink, wink!). 
 
Norml Kale Salad  (2 Servings)
Ingredients:
3 cups loosely packed de-ribbed, finely chopped kale (~10-15 leaves)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tblsp hemp oil (or any oil you like) 
1 tblsp of whole hemp seeds (sesame seeds would be good too)
1/2 cucumber, cut lengthwise then sliced thinly in half moons
1/2 pint sweet cherry tomatoes, diced

 Directions:

1. Strip the green leafy part of the kale from the tough, white center rib, bunch the leaves together and chop them finely.
2. Add chopped kale, oil, and salt to a medium bowl and massage with your fingers for a ~30 seconds.  Let it sit while you chop up the tomatoes and cucumber.
3. Thinly slice the cucumber and slice the cherry tomatoes in half then add to bowl with the kale.
4. Add hemp seeds and stir everything together.  Can be saved in the fridge for a few hours, it will only get better as it "marinates."