The other day we were lucky enough to be invited on a boat to cruise around Long Island Sound.  It was gorgeous, the girls had a grand time leaping off the boat and flinging horseshoe crabs at each other.

We had a late lunch at the Yacht Club and I ordered the Garden Salad.  It was delicious.  Not a wilted lettuce leaf in sight.  It was made with Tuscan Kale and the addition of a delicious dressing made it a refreshing treat.

Kale is such a powerhouse of goodness, packed full of Vitamin K and C, lutein and zeoxanthin.  I've read that during World War II in England the growing of kale was encouraged by the "Dig for Victory" campaign.  Although I've always enjoyed kale cooked, I had no idea how delicious it could be cold.

This is my attempt to recreate that lovely salad.  Although it does involve a fair amount of chopping, it's worth the effort and even tastes wonderful the next day.  Unusual for a salad.

1 bunch of Tuscan Kale, stems removed and leaves VERY finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 orange pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 cup of sunflower seeds
A large handful of fresh herbs, finely chopped.  I used parsley and basil

Dressing;
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of runny honey
 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
Zest and juice of a lemon
4-6 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper

Chop all the salad ingredients (except the sunflower seeds) and place in a bowl.

To make the dressing mix the honey, mustard, lemon juice and zest, vinegar and salt and pepper together to a smooth paste. 

Whisk in the the olive oil one tablespoon at a time.

Check seasonings.

Pour over the salad, add the sunflower seeds and combine.

Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Finish with one more squeeze of lemon juice.