I have always been of the mindset that kale is garnish, so it took a lot for me to try this.
I am all about texture, so I thought I would try kale chips as my experiment with kale, rather than cooking it down.

I removed the big stem from the kale and cut it into smaller pieces. Drizzled with a bit of oil and sprinkled on some kosher salt. Then I baked it in a 350 degree oven for a little less than 20 minutes. Got nice crunchy chips out of it. Some parts were a little chewier, and the kale actually really reminded me of the brussel sprouts, only less ‘meaty’. I think I like the brussels better. There was a huge volume of kale, as you can see in the picture, and it was really only about 100 grams, actually less because that was before I took the stems out.
It did satisfy my crunchy expectations, so that was good. I might chop up the rest and put it in soup. Not sure, though.