All Hail Kael/Kale!!

Yes I know Kael is awesome but it took me a while to discover my love for kale.  Kale, that superfood everyone is obsessed with but the few recipes I tried in the past really couldn't convert me.  Unless it was blended up in a fruit smoothie, I really had no desire to eat it in it's leafy form.  That is...until I had the kale salad at Veggie Grill.  The All Hail Kale Salad.  I think it's the papaya ginger vinaigrette that makes it so delicious.  I easily found the copycat recipe online and did my own little tweaks to it.  Served with some grilled chicken breast and voila...healthy awesome meal!  Here's the recipe...WARNING: Like me, you may be dragged onto the kale bandwagon after eating this :)

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale (or for lazy cooks like me...1 bag of washed and cut kale at Trader Joe's)
½ cup of quinoa, cooked
1 cup corn salsa (recipe below)
½ cup red cabbage
¼ cup candied walnuts
1 cup ginger papaya dressing (recipe below)

Steps:
1. Prep Kale-This is key!  Kale needs to be "marinated" beforehand so it's not so tough.  First remove spines and chop into bite-size pieces.  Rinse in cold water and dry (or use handy salad spinner).  Put in large bowl and mix in dressing and quinoa, making sure everything is coated.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours but overnight is ideal.
2. Before serving, top kale with corn salsa, cabbage, and walnuts.  You can drizzle a little more dressing on top for extra flavor

Ginger Papaya Vinaigrette 
1 Tbs fresh ginger root
½ cup lime juice (I used some lemons too cuz I ran out of lime)
1 cup fresh papaya
¼ cup rice vinegar
½ Tbs sea salt
1 cup canola oil (original recipe called for 2 cups...um totally overboard)
½ cup evaporated cane juice or granulated sugar

Steps:  Peel ginger root and papaya, combine with all ingredients to blender (except oil) blend until smooth. Slowly drizzle oil while continuing to blend until dressing emulsifies, add to container and
refrigerate

Corn Salsa
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro
1 cup roasted corn (lazy cooks get the frozen bag at Trader Joe's and thaw the amount you need before making the salsa)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp lime juice