Dark Leafy Greens and how to get more of them

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, heidih said:

I orgot to mention the ever adaptable "green soup". Sometimes I am seduced by too many lovely greens and don't want them to go limp and lose their oomph. Liike the link but no rice, sometimes bit o potato. The salt element chicken powder.. Rather than lemon juice I stir in some plain yogurt. I welcome this at B, L or D. With a cheese toastie - I'm happy.  https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/250333/basic-green-soup/

keyboard still being a pain...

This or something like it will go into heavy rotation once we get back home. I've added a veg stock to my freezer arsenal recently and that's been really useful for a variety of things. I cooked RG beans in it and that was excellent. A change from my usual ham broth beans.  

[heidih]

23 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

This or something like it will go into heavy rotation once we get back home. I've added a veg stock to my freezer arsenal recently and that's been really useful for a variety of things. I cooked RG beans in it and that was excellent. A change from my usual ham broth beans.  

In am more a water versus veg broth person. Unless using wild dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid. Recently bought some Roland ones - mix includes yellow boletes, black ungus, oyster, and porcini.

[Katie Meadow]

Our choices are limited here in the NC hills. I know the selection will be great at the huge international market in Decatur; there's a whole aisle with nothing but different greens. After the remarkable unusual chard we scored at the local farmers' market the best we could do at the big grocery store in town was a bag of pre-washed and cut greens called, simply, Southern Greens. It was a mix of turnip greens, collards and mustard greens, and ,surprisingly fresh and good cooked with a little bacon.  

[Smithy]

8 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Our choices are limited here in the NC hills. I know the selection will be great at the huge international market in Decatur; there's a whole aisle with nothing but different greens. After the remarkable unusual chard we scored at the local farmers' market the best we could do at the big grocery store in town was a bag of pre-washed and cut greens called, simply, Southern Greens. It was a mix of turnip greens, collards and mustard greens, and ,surprisingly fresh and good cooked with a little bacon.  

 

Did you cook them to a soft consistency? If you used any acid, what was it? I could imagine treating those greens and bacon as one would a wilted salad, but I suspect they'd need more cooking than spinach would.

[Deephaven]

My families favorite way of having greens is to take a couple of the really big containers and cooked them down 70% and put them in a bowl with a piece of pan roasted halibut/seabass/etc and a sauce made from a cup of water, 1/3 cup soy, 1/4 cup brown sugar and then steep a 1" piece of fresh ginger and 3 cloves of garlic chopped at a boil for 10min.  After 10 add 2 tsp of black tea and steep another 3-5min and pour this over the fish & spinach.

[Katie Meadow]

28 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Did you cook them to a soft consistency? If you used any acid, what was it? I could imagine treating those greens and bacon as one would a wilted salad, but I suspect they'd need more cooking than spinach would.

We cooked the bacon and put it on paper towels. In some of the bacon grease we sautéed half an onion and. some garlic. Then the greens went it, tossed and briefly cooked until totally wilted. Added salt and tossed a bit more. Added about a third of a cup of water, covered the pan and steamed for five or so minutes. Broke up the bacon, added it back in and cooked for another five minutes or so. Uncovered the pan and cooked off the liquid and served with a generous pat of butter. Really good despite how minimalist it was. A home I would have used ham broth instead of water, and finished the greens with a bit of vinegar and Steen's can syrup. I typically do this with chard, but now I think I will start to branch out and mix up the greens.'

 

So, these were not long-cooked greens as collards are often done. And certainly spinach cooks quicker, but I'm not a fan of spinach, which would certainly cook quicker. When it comes to long-cooked collards I think that's an art, and when I order them along with BBQ  I am always disappointed. But the rare times I find tender baby collards they can work really with this method.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

I know you just said you don't care for spinach, but in a smoothie with OJ, fresh or frozen fruit like pineapple, mango or peach and a big old pile of baby spinach you really can't taste it.  This makes a brilliant green drink that just tastes like fruit and squeezes in some extra greens. Throw in some ice cubes, especially if using fresh rather than frozen fruit. 

Kept cool in an insulated tumbler, it can be sipped or guzzled depending on your appetite. 

Stick with light colored fruits - red berries will make the green murky.  

 

I've also used TJ's bagged organic "Power to the Greens" mix of baby chard, baby kale and baby spinach and it also gets completely smooth and doesn't add noticeable flavor.  Bigger greens start to get  both tougher to get completely smooth and have stronger flavors that might not appeal to everyone. 

 

You can add other stuff like protein and fiber to make it more of a meal replacement.