What\’s kale-coction? A concoction made with kale, of course. Last Sunday I got to work and used up the bunch of kale that had been in my fridge for a week. Cyclists need veggies, after all.

Before I could even start with that, I had to clean up the bundle of celery I had bought that morning. At the same time, I had to keep an eye on the pot of brown rice on the stove. Kitchen duty is enough to make anyone dizzy, trying to juggle several things! Especially when stove and sink are on opposite sides of the kitchen.

OK, so I finished with the celery. I had washed the kale the day before, so at least that was out of the way. But I still had to chop it all. Chopping kale is a nuisance! It\’s not only ruffly; it\’s rather stiff, and won\’t lie flat. One bunch of kale, chopped, almost fills a 5-quart pot.

Then I took a large stalk of celery; chopped the leaves; and thinly sliced the stalk. Add to pot. I had two scallions in the crisper, that I had almost forgotten about. I chopped them for the kale-coction, too. Next came 1/4 sweet onion, chopped; and two cloves of garlic, minced.

And, a 28-oz can of tomatoes and one cup of water. I used crushed tomatoes because they were right there; but other kinds will do. I sloshed the water around the tomato can to get more of the tomato out before pouring it into the pot.

At last the pot was ready to go on the stove. I put it over medium heat; and stirred constantly as the mixture heated. Especially I folded it up from the bottom of the pot; I didn\’t want it to stick and burn.

After about 20 minutes the kale had cooked down so the pot was about half full; and the mixture had become bubbly. I turned the heat down as low as possible; and let it cook about 20 minutes, with the occasional stir.

Voluminous though it is when raw, kale cooks down a surprising amount. This made about 6 cups. I froze half, and used half during the week. No need to cook veggies after work. Just heat and serve!