Snow much fun!!

It was snow much fun!!! There, I said it. I loved the blizzard...the snow was fabulous. The Category 3 hurricane winds blasting my mom's house were a bit much, especially as day 3 wore on but all in all, it was really fun.

While not a big New Year's reveler, this year's fete was a blast Catskills-style...the most fun New Year's yet since India where we all danced to the disco beat with people half our age. ..well, at least half my age. I don't remember having ever been to the Catskills and it was fun to be in the land of the legendary Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, Last of the Mohicans. It is truly beautiful...gorgeous mountains, streams, birch trees, rocks, ice, snow...you name it. Well, even kale was there, but I will get to that in a moment.

Close as I ever want to come to the native wildlife. I have serious bear issues!

Part of the fun was that Hunter Mountain was right across the street from us. The call of the wild beckoned. I felt the urge to wax up and hit the slopes until I saw that a few things had changed since I had last been skiing...about 30 years ago. Let's start with the clothes...more zippers and pockets that you can imagine and waterproof. And the boots. Goodness...so high tech. Then the size of the skis...what happened there? They are so short!!!! And then, snowboards...how cool to see them up close. Jon even had a really clever board that split into two cross country skis! Gosh...where have I been?

Thoroughly Modern Lissa

Lissa trying to update Mom with borrowed gear

Wanting to find my ski legs before actually putting them to the test, I found the perfect slope sport for me. Take a look...

I already have several trial runs in and I am ready for this to be the next Olympic sport. Forming a team? I'm in. Mastered that tube. Rocked the 3-5 session.

You all know by now how kale crazy I am and can find it anywhere. While still in NYC, I had several fab kale salads and even found a shirt with my name on it.

And so, it came as an extra delight that as part of the wonderful New Year's Eve feast Jon and Melissa  prepared Catskills-style, there was a delicious kale salad. It was just as delish for breakfast the next morning!

When I got back to Little Rock, I had to take a dish to a Gal's Night Supper and natch, chopped up a kale-ish salad...kind of a morph of some of the salads I tasted over the last two weeks. Here it is...

Unpacking the Suitcase Kale Salad

Herb salad mix

Kale

Fuji apple (or your fave)

Organic cheese of choice, optional

Hazelnuts, toasted

Slice kale leaves into little ribbons. Dress with Tangerine Vinaigrette and let rest for a few minutes. Then, add in salad greens, diced apple, grated cheese of choice and toasted hazelnuts. Toss with extra vinaigrette.

Tangerine Vinaigrette

Zest rind of one juicy tangerine and set aside. Squeeze juice to make about 3 tablespoons. Add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I add in a little natural sweetness but the tangerine this time was really sweet enough for me). Blend in 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil and reserved tangerine zest. Mix well and taste for seasonings.

This salad is very fresh tasting. You can always deepen the flavor by adding in a shallot or onion but I didn't have any on hand. Have a great weekend!