I Am Kale: What to Do With Leafy Greens
Other veggies go in and out of season, but there is always some leafy green on offer via CSAs, farmers’ markets, your garden, your foraging forays, or even at the supermarket. Health-wise, that’s a good thing. Leafy greens are top of the list of things that are good for us to eat more of. But what to do with them all?
This week my CSA share included lettuce, kale, arugula, bok choy, and spinach. That’s a lot of greens for a single gal to eat. But not a leaf will go to waste. Here are my tips for making the most of all that green goodness.
First, prioritize. Some greens will last longer in your fridge than others. Tender leaves like lettuce and spinach will start to rot before sturdier greens such as kale and choy. Loose leaves are more fragile than those still attached in “heads” (think loose leaf salad mix vs. a head of lettuce). Plan to use up the fragile and loose leaf greens first.
Second, cook up those greens and decide what to do with them later. Tip: it’s much easier to chop the greens after you’ve cooked them. Wash the greens and remove any tough stems. Steam, dunk in boiling water, or sautée until wilted. Run under cold water to stop them from continuing to cook from residual heat. Squeeze out as much water as you can (squeeze hard). Chop.
At this point your greens will keep for a week in the refrigerator and are ready to add to scrambled eggs or omelets, at the last minute to soups, tostadas, dips, etc. Or you can pack them into freezer bags or containers and freeze for future use (you have to cook greens before you freeze them. Raw greens turn into black goo when defrosted). Or reheat with some garlic and olive oil for a classic stir fry, or add some soy and ginger to take your greens in an Asian flavor direction (a little toasted sesame oil is good here, too, or one of Stony Brook’s squash seed oils).
Some greens you may not have considered: the leaves of radishes, turnips, and beets are all delicious cooked greens.
Kale is wonderful sprinkled with a little sea salt and baked into “chips.” It also dehydrates easily for adding to soups later on. Kale juice is an excellent green juice to add to a smoothie (but high oxalic acid content begs for infrequent use.)
Peggy´s last [type] ..Whole Foods Market pulls kombucha The real story
Great tips – especially for those looking to freeze their greens. I agree with Peggy – kale chips are the way to go for a nutritious snack.
Lisa´s last [type] ..Settling In- Sliced Zucchini with Sweet Onions
Yes! Thanks for the reminder about the kale chips.
[...] I Am Kale: What to Do With Leafy Greens | Farm to Table. This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. ← Foraging and Food Security | Farm to Table LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]