leafy greens are the new Prozac

After some contemplation, Ron and I decided to join a CSA this spring through a local farm. Every Tuesday, we drive to a nearby market, pick up our share of this week's harvest, and fill our refrigerator with healthy, locally-grown produce. It's fresh. It's delicious. It's, frankly, a bit overwhelming.

The crops harvested right now are from those plants that don't mind growing in the cooler weather -- namely, leafy greens of all varieties. This week, we got a box that included kale, green oak leaf lettuce, spinach, tat soi, arugula, mustard greens, and turnips with greens attached. Apparently, somebody thought our house needed some regularity, based on the high fiber content of my refrigerator.

Having all of this healthy food around is definitely good for our diets. We feel guilty letting any of it go to waste, and so I'm searching for ways to get greens into dishes aside from eating them raw. I'm beginning to think that CSA actually stands for "Consume Salads All.the.time." (If you have any favorite salads that take lettuce to a new level, please pass them along. Seriously.)

And while I sometimes wonder whether I can stand another lunch of salad and strawberries (also in season), I'm seeing benefits. Turns out those nutrition experts know what they're talking about when they tell us to eat this stuff. My skin has cleared up, my extra pregnancy insulation is thinning, and my mood has improved. It seems that when I put less crap in my body, I feel less crappy. Genius.

Now if I could just find a way to make those mustard greens tasty without cooking them with bacon, imagine what other improvements I might see. Possibilities are endless: children who never tantrum, a blissful marriage, the perfect work-life balance. All if I could eat my greens without a little salt and fat from the pig.

Yep, pork is all that stands between me and world domination. Delicious, delectable pork.

Comments

[Sonja]

I don't know about the pork thing, but I personally don't bother with a home-made salad without real sheep milk feta (so much better than the cowy kind) and red bell peppers.
Also, if you really want to have a perfect, eternal life, you have to eat Kefir. It's delicious if you like the taste of sour milk...
(Can you tell we're going over "diet" in our Bradley class right now?!)

[Colleen]

I just saw a recipe in the latest issue of Cookie Magazine for lettuce soup. Looks weird, sounds weird but maybe you could give it a try?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/242226

Also saw these lettuce-inspired recipes there:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/242225

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/242224

[Patti_Mayo]

I like my leafy greens with some ranch dressing...that's about the only way I'll eat them...LOL

I have a girlfriend who makes some great smoothies with spinach, coconut water, fresh and frozen berries...they're good...you can't taste the spinach.

[Sandy]

Ok, if mustard greens can do all that - I might even give it a go. ;)

Sounds like an awesome way to stock a fridge. I've got nothing for you in terms of recipes...but gosh, it sounds yummy.

[old horsetail snake]

Sprinkle a little feta cheese over your lettuce, tomatoes and greek olives, dribble on some genuine virgin olive oil, and you can eat this near every day.

[1mermaid]

Here's a fairly quick way to make greens without bacon.

A couple of bunches of greens
Some finely chopped, fresh ginger
Some finely chopped garlic
A dash red pepper flakes
A little oil, butter or margarine

Wash the greens. If you're using big leaves, like mustard or turnip, cut or shred them into small pieces. Also, you might want to remove any tough pieces. If you're using spinach, you don't really have to cut it up.

In a very large pot, heat the oil, butter or margarine. Add the greens and spices. Stir up the greens from the bottom. Keep stirring until all the greens are cooked down - about 5 minutes.

also, see http://vegkitchen.com/recipes/leafy-greens.htm

[1mermaid]

Here's a fairly quick way to make greens without bacon.

A couple of bunches of greens
Some finely chopped, fresh ginger
Some finely chopped garlic
A dash red pepper flakes
A little oil, butter or margarine

Wash the greens. If you're using big leaves, like mustard or turnip, cut or shred them into small pieces. Also, you might want to remove any tough pieces. If you're using spinach, you don't really have to cut it up.

In a very large pot, heat the oil, butter or margarine. Add the greens and spices. Stir up the greens from the bottom. Keep stirring until all the greens are cooked down - about 5 minutes.

also, see http://vegkitchen.com/recipes/leafy-greens.htm