OK, my new box arrived on Wednesday and I haven’t had a lot of time to cook since then — but I haven’t eaten out yet.

Instead, last night I stopped by a friend’s potluck supper and fell in love with some creamed kale. Rich and comforting, it’s a great alternative to creamed spinach, with both a stronger flavor and, IMHO, a better, sturdier texture. Because, let’s face it, creamed spinach, when done poorly, can get a little slimy.

Kale, on the other hand, has enough fiber to stand up to all that dairy. It’s also packed with vitamins and nutrients, including whopping doses of vitamins K, A, and C. Per the folks at Precision Nutrition, it “almost makes broccoli look like Doritos.”

There are a bunch of good-looking recipes on that site (if you’ve never tried roasting up some simple, salty kale chips, you’re missing out), but I think tonight I’m going to essay a batch of low-fat creamed kale, based on this recipe I found over at the website for Naperville’s Green Earth Institute.

Ingredients

2 pounds kale (or Swiss chard)
3 3/4 cup evaporated skim milk
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup nonfat sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Clean and remove center stalks from kale. Blanch kale for 2 minutes in boiling water until tender. Rinse in ice water and cut into 1/2-inch ribbons. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the kale, milk and nutmeg. Simmer 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, or until the milk has reduced and thickened. Stir in sour cream and season with pepper.

With some rosemary-roasted potatoes? Who says there are no good vegetables to be had in winter?

Now I just need to figure out what to do with that celery root.