Kids Cooking Camp at Serenbe probably looks a bit different than other cooking camps. We don’t do pizza bagels. They don’t learn the finer points of macaroni and cheese or take their newfound knowledge of gummy worms sundaes back to their home kitchen.

We do kale. Actually, we did two kale dishes in one day.

Based off the success of last year’s camp, I did two weeks this year instead of one. One day we made create-your-own frittatas with different cheeses, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, bacon, sausage and— that’s right—kale.

One day we did quick pickles: I set out kohlrabi, turnips and carrots and the kids wanted to know where the pickles were. It was a revelation to them that pickling is a process, not a product—and not always a cucumber.

I even brought back the blueberry cobbler, which was a huge hit last year for two reasons:

1. It’s delicious.

2. It ended with a homemade whipped cream fight on my front lawn. The fat from the cream stained my steps, but it makes for a hell of a story.

For the cobbler, the kids learned how to measure both dry and liquid ingredients and I got to find out who has real whipped cream at home and who has Cool Whip, which I call poison. You know my rule: If you can’t pronounce all the ingredients, you shouldn’t eat it.

But the first day was kale. We made one of my favorite comfort food dishes, sautéed kale over rice. We even did a rice tasting to see which one we liked best for the base (I’m partial to jasmine myself). They gobbled it up with this kale salad with oranges, almonds and a fresh orange vinaigrette.

Kale, orange and almond salad with orange vinaigrette

• 1 large bunch kale, washed, stemmed and torn into small pieces
• 2 navel oranges, pith removed and sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (pistachio can be substituted)
• Optional- thinly sliced vidalia onion

Place kale in large bowl and toss with the dressing. Taste and add salt if necessary.Divide the kale on 4 plates and top with oranges, onion and nuts

Orange Vinaigrette :

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinaigrette
• 1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt

Place all ingredients in a jar and shake. Or In a bowl and stir well.