Peach and kale salad with Soy sauce and ginger dressing.

It’s July and peaches are in full swing! There is something amazing and special to me about the smell of fresh fruit. It’s like I can smell the sun rising out of them, and that never fails to makes me smile.

Which is great! But then I get over-excited and buy too many for the family to eat. I know, a curse of too much fresh fruit. Darn! So how to make the best of it and use them up before they go south?

I do like just munching on a peach, nectarine, or plum. Eventually I and my family tire of that, so I think “If I can change it in small ways, it’ll become more versatile, and we’ll eat it up!”

Right now, I have a ton of kale in the garden. Great! Freshly picked from the garden, this kale has the highest amount of nutrients it can. Now how to marry these two. (I pictured a peach in a kale wedding dress).

To the freezer! I found in my storage bins some frozen edamame from last season. Or if you grew up in the fields like me: soybeans. I like keeping them on hand for variety in veggies for my family.

It’s weird to me that soybeans are fancy and expensive now. I used to wander through my neighbors field and pick them to eat as snacks in-between meals. We could buy a whole bushel for like 2 dollars.  Then when I got older and was living on my own, my boyfriend at the time took me to New York City to visit his brother. As a treat, he took us out for sushi. He ordered an appetizer of edamame. I had no idea what this was, plus this was maybe my second or third time I had eaten sushi.

Soon this little steaming bowl arrived. Salted and peppered, these little green pods where something very familiar to me, but I had never seen them prepared in this way. As they taught me how to eat them  by putting the whole pod in to your mouth and squeezing out the beans with your teeth, I thought “How funny this is to see. These little beans I would eat as I walked the Michigan country side are now are being sold to people for 10 dollars a bowl.”

Back on topic! “Hmmm….” I thought, “Ginger goes great with peach. That’s going to be how I get the kale and my peaches to play nice with one another.” As I was already dipping my toe in some Asian flavors, I dove into Japanese sauces and spices for inspiration on the dressing.

What you will need!
2 peaches
1 cup of edamame (shucked and frozen is fine)
2 cups or fresh kale leaves striped from their stems (I like the look of my purple kale in this recipe, but they all taste the same)
2 stalks of celery sliced thinly in half moons
1/4 cup soy ginger dressing (recipe below)

Mixing bowl
Slice and dice everything and put into a good mixing bowl. Next make and add the dressing.

What you will need!
1/2 cup olive oil
2 oz soy sauce
1/2 lime squeezed (or 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar)
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (if you love it like me, 2)
1 tablespoon pickled ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar
5 stalks of parsley or cilantro
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
blender or food processor

Put your oil and garlic in the blender. If you have time, just let your measuring cup for the oil hang out in the blender to get every last drop. If not, it’s not that big of a deal, but waste not want not. Blend the garlic and oil until there are no chunks left.

Next add the stalks of parsley and ginger, then blend again until smooth. The reason for the order is because we want to get all the herbs and spices ground well so no one bites in to a hunk of garlic or ginger.

Next add the brown sugar, lime, and soy sauce. I noticed I could juice my lime on the center of the blade attachment. I’m almost sure it’s not meant for it, but I felt fancy figuring doing it. Hahaha.

Blend for 2 minutes, and it will become thinker because of the emulsification of the fat molecules. This adds a great texture to the dressing, and it is more evenly flavored. Pour it on top of the salad and toss, or just drizzle it on some sliced peaches. It is delicious either way. Surprise your friends and family with this unique salad, and get in your Victory for the day.