Experience the vitality of fresh garden greens.
The more common cooking greens, arugula, collards, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, beet greens, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, spinach, and radish tops - may be used interchangeably. Experiment with the different greens available to you and get to know their unique and mild to pungent flavors.
Their vibrancy and freshness are a gift of flavor and health. Greens are packed with nutrition. Properly prepared, greens offer generous amount of Vitamins A and C, some B vitamins, and folic acid, as well as minerals such as calcium and iron. Greens are very high in dietary fiber and low in calories. In the health world, dark leafy greens also receive attention for their roles in disease prevention.
So don't forget to eat your greens.
From Asparagus to Zucchini, Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition
Asian-Style Saute
2 tbsp sesame oil
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound mixed greens, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp tamari
fresh ground pepper
Heat oil in wok or large skillet. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes, remove and set aside. Saute greens until just wilted. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, tamari, pepper and garlic. Serve as a side dish or with rice.
Will's Collard Greens Will Allen, Growing Power
this recipe works for all kinds of cooking greens
1 bunch collard greens separate stems and cut into small bites
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar/honey
1 tsp minced garlic
Wash and stack the leaves, roll them and slice thinly. Heat oil in medium pan add salt, pepper, garlic, stem pieces and sugar. Add greens and cook until tender. Stir often to avoid burning the greens.
Fresh Greens Pasta Pie Crystal Lake Gardens
6 ounces vermicelli
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5 eggs
2 tsp cooking oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh greens
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
several shakes hot pepper sauce if desired
Cook vermicelli, drain. Stir butter and parmesan cheese into hot pasta. Beat 2 of the eggs and stir well into pasta. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased plate and use a spoon to shape the pasta into a pie shell, cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a skillet, add onion, cook until tender. Beat remaining 3 eggs and conbine with spinach, mozzarella, milk, seasonings and onions. Spoon mixture into pasta shell. Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
Drying herbs couldn’t be simpler and is a great way to preserve parsley, rosemary, mint, thyme, and many others. But some herbs will be mere shadows of their former selves when dried, hardly worth the time and effort it takes to do it. Luckily, there are lots of simple alternatives, such as freezing and making herbal butters and vinegars, and pretty much all herbs are suited to these methods.
Freezing herbs is easy, even if you have a small freezer. The simplest way to freeze herbs is to spread dry, clean whole or chopped leaves onto a baking sheet, freeze overnight, and put the frozen herbs into sealed containers in the freezer for later use. Frozen herbs prepared this way last for months before they start to get tired-looking. I like to freeze chives for sprinkling on baked potatoes in the dead of winter, when my herb patch is locked under snow.
Pesto also freezes well—freeze it in an ice-cube tray and store the cubes in airtight containers in the freezer. First, discover the secret of making gorgeous, emerald-green pesto.
Herbal Butters
Another great method for preserving herbs is to make them into flavored butter and freeze that. Mince 1 part herbs (one type, or a blend) and mash into 2 parts softened organic butter, shape into a log, and freeze. Cut off slices of herb-flavored butter as needed to melt over vegetables, meat, or fish, or to sauté in recipes for the taste of summer all winter long. My favorite flavored butter is made with minced garlic and parsley, which makes awesome garlic bread!
Try making your own organic butter.
Herb-Flavored Vinegar
Herb-flavored vinegar is a delicious, pretty way to savor herbs long after the growing season is past. You don’t need any special equipment to make them; just reuse attractive glass bottles, so your tasty gifts will also be tasteful.
To make flavored vinegar, you will need bottles and cork stoppers to fit them (vinegar eats metal lids, even coated ones), enough good commercial vinegar to fill them, and fresh or dried herbs and spices. I like to use white-wine vinegar for delicate flavors like lemon balm, and organic apple-cider vinegar for more robust flavors like rosemary.
Wash and pat dry any fresh herbs—tarragon is a classic vinegar flavoring—and slide the whole leaves into the bottles, using a chopstick or wooden skewer as needed. Peeled garlic cloves and any kind of small peppers (slit down the side) are also nice choices for making flavored vinegar. Use about ½ cup of herbs per 2 cups of vinegar, or more if you want a very concentrated flavor. Fill the bottles with room-temperature vinegar and cork. Store in a cool, dark place. The flavor will continue to strengthen for 4 to 6 weeks. Use herb-flavored vinegars in salad dressings and marinades, splashed over veggies, or anywhere a recipe calls for vinegar or lemon juice.
To store vinegar longer, melt some beeswax (in a small steel can set in a pan of simmering water), and dip the corked end of the bottle into the wax to coat the top ¼ inch of the glass and the exposed cork. Let the wax harden, and repeat several times to build up a good coating. For extra-special gifting, drape a short length of ¼"- to ½"-wide ribbon over the top of the just-dipped bottle after the first dip. Hold the loose ends against the bottle neck and dip the top again, ribbon and all. The ribbon looks really classy, and makes it easy to remove the wax seal later.
Herb-Flavored Oils
You can also use your glass jars and corks for flavored oils. But placing herbs, garlic, peppers, fruit, and such, that contain even a trace of moisture into any oil is asking for trouble: The oil seals out the air and makes the perfect environment for botulism bacteria to thrive in the plant material. To be safe, you must store herb-flavored oils in the refrigerator and use them within a few weeks.
As an alternative, you can dry the herbs and other flavorings in a food dehydrator, or in the sun, until they are completely dry before adding them to a light-flavored organic olive oil or other cold-pressed oil. Add about 2 tablespoons of crushed dried herbs to 2 cups of oil.