Kale Chip Fail

Kale gets much attention for being a super healthy food. Prevents cancer and all that jazz. There's a Vietnamese phrase I use in my family when mocking the benefits of newly discovered health foods, "It cools your liver and prevents acne." That's our family catch phrase for summarizing decades of scientific studies determining health benefits of certain foods. In all seriousness, kale is good for you and I find it delicious.
(one of many articles about kale)

My dad was already 10 steps ahead of scientists and health magazines when he decided to plant kale from seeds his friend had given him. Here is one of our five kale plants.I notice that our kale looks different from the ones found in the store. Not as curly and with a light stem. But I can't confirm which type of kale this is since seeds were given by a friend.

Harvested and washed then torn into bite sized pieces.

The kale has been growing rampant and I decided to browse foodbuzz for kale recipes when I found kale chips. Then I read in a health article that Kristen Bell makes kale chips and I was sold! I will eat and do anything Kristen Bell does except date Dax Shepard (not a fan of the hair). All these articles and recipes I found made kale chips sound so simple. Season with olive oil and spices of your choice, bake in the oven for 20-30 mins. I can do this! But apparently, I can't do this, 3 times!

First attempt: seasoned with olive oil, salt, soy sauce, cajun spices, and cayenne pepper.

lay out on a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.

...and you get this crispy, over salted, whisper of a kale chip. Ok so I thought, maybe this whole soy sauce thing isn't working. Let's try the American style olive oil with balsamic vinegar and sea salt.

I tore bigger pieces this time and baked just a handful in a toaster oven so I don't mess up a whole batch and can control the timing better. Visually, it's starting to look right but taste wise, this was worse than the soy sauce/cajun spices batch. I think balsamic vinegar shouldn't be baked. I should also turn the leaves over so they crisp evenly on all sides since there were some damp edges on this one.

Third try: I went back to the soy sauce, vinegar, cayenne pepper, salt, and olive oil mixture. I also took it out at 15 minutes and turned them over for even crispness. This one wasn't too bad but next time, I will use only soy sauce and no salt because after it bakes, the moisture evaporates from the soy sauce making it extra salty and exaggerated more by the addition of sea salt. So, third time wasn't a charm, but 4th time will be. I have confidence!

Some kale chip recipes I drew inspiration from
Nutrition to Kitchen
A Thought for Food
Kalyn's Kitchen