SO MUCH KALE! (How to freeze it all)

Remember those tiny baby kale plants I bought in June?

Well, those babies have turned into beasts!

In one garden bed, Andrew and I planted predominantly kale, with some onions scattered in between.  Without having to do much to these hearty greens, they've flourished and grown to monstrous levels. 

It's pretty awesome.

In order not to lose the sweet taste of fresh local kale this winter, we decided to get all old fashioned about things and freeze a whole bunch of it to save for later. 

Things got a bit messy, but it was worth it.  It's pretty easy to do.  If you find yourself swimming an an abundance of kale, lucky reader, it's literally as simple as 1,2,3,...4.

1.  Get some water boiling in a large pot.  In a large glass bowl, set aside some ice water
2.  Clean and de-stem the kale.  You don't want reminders of summer's dirt in your winter meals.
3.  Chop up the kale and place it into the boiling water for 2 minutes.
4.  Take the kale out of the boiling water with a handy mesh strainer.  Set it in the ice water to cool, then let it dry in a separate strainer.

Repeat until you have no more kale to process.  Once the kale is dry, set it in freezer-friendly plastic bags, and place in your freezer.

If you need some kale-tastic recipes, see my Ode to Kale, which includes a breakfast, kale chips, and even kale cookies.  You can also find another phenomonal kale cookie recipe here, along with a Mung Bean and Kale Patty recipe. 

Do you have an abundance of anything in your garden that you're planning on freezing/canning/preserving?  I'd love to hear all about it!