Kale Salad with Toasted Coconut & Sesame Oil

I have been staying up too late lately (which means slightly past 10) working on projects and somewhat obsessively watching House of Cards. We are fully sucked in to the world of The Underwoods and I hate to think of what will happen when we finish up season 2. I was dragging this past Sunday so we decided to take an adventure to soak up the fresh sunny air which always gives me energy. Happily, that along with a couple cups of coffee did the trick. We rode The Chappy Ferry 527 feet to go crabbing off the bridge for the day. Dylan caught 25 crabs and may have had the best day of his life.

I have made this salad two times in the past few weeks and gobbled it down quickly each time. I almost always have the ingredients on hand so it's easy to pull together. The first time I used farro (as is called for) and the second time pearl barley (because I had it) and both were good but I prefer the farro version.

Kale Salad with Toasted Coconut & Sesame Oil

serves 4

From Super Natural Every Day

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons shoyu, tamari, or soy sauce

3 1/2 lightly packed cups chopped kale, stems trimmed, large ribs removed

1 1/2 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut

2 cups cooked farro or other whole grain

1. Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack in the top third of the oven.

2. In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake together the olive oil, sesame oil, and shoyu. Put the kale and coconut in a large bowl and toss well with about two-thirds of the olive oil mixture.

3. Spread the kale evenly across a baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, until the coconut is deeply golden brown, tossing once or twice along the way. If it begins to get too browned, move it to a lower rack.

4. Remove from the oven and transfer the kale mixture to a medium bowl. Taste. If you feel it needs a bit more dressing, and some and toss. Place the farro on a serving platter and top with the tossed kale. Serve warm.