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Need Greens Cooking Help?????

Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hey.....I just got out of the hospital after 2 days of having a scare with some temporary numbness on my left side. Being diabetic for 21 yrs that stuff scares the $hit out of me. Turns out it was nothing but after seeing my heart beating on an ECHO test and my arteries pumping away on an ultrasound I decided to add the 5 main vegetables Cardiologists recommed. Do any of you have tried and true recipes or a good veggie book I cam buy? Gotta try collard greens, kale, celery, mustard greens and carrots. Carrots and celery are esay but the other 3 I have no idea. [p]BTW - while driving to Emergency a group called The Strokes came up on Sirius radio. Oh yeah........I turned that off pretty quickly...LOL!![p]Thanks,
Howard

Comments

  • Rollocks
    Rollocks Posts: 570
    I've steamed collard greens like similar to the way i would spinach. I used to boil grrens and spinach but stopped after hearing steaming is better for keeping in the vitamins. Kale I don't care for its flavor, but I have on occasion added it to a soup much like one would use celery or cabbage.
  • Howard,[p]You may want to work on spinach and cabbage before jumping on greens. Don't get me wrong, I love greens and have eaten them all my life, but they have to be cooked a long time to smooth out the bitter flavor and they produce a funky smell during this process. On top of that, they are usually flavored with hog jowl, hocks, bacon etc, and cooked like that they aren't very heart wise. (I'm sure the pot likker is full of vitamins, but that is a developed taste too).[p]If you happen across a more healthy style of cooking greens, please post it.[p]~thirdeye~

  • Borders
    Borders Posts: 665
    Howard, You can make some really tasty mustard or collard greens the way I do it, and still keep them relatively healthy. [p]Saute about 1/2 an onion in your pot in olive oil. Add some water to cool down the pot, then add your washed and shredded greens. Add water just to cover the greens--not to float them. [p]Season them with 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, 1 tsp liquid hickory smoke(This replaces the pork used in most recipes or you can use pulled pork if you like), 1-2 tablespoons of hot pepper vinegar if you like. [p]Simmer on low 1-4 hours til tender. Most of the flavor comes from the greens, not the seasoning. Try mixing collards and mustard greens too.[p]I hope this helps.

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    Howard,
    i eat alot of kale, but just in soups. its a little bitter if not cooked. a potuguese style soup with just a little linguica or chourico, yellow eyed beans, and a stock made from ham bones with a good amount of kale. the mustard greens might be good sauted in some bacon grease and sherry like a cabbage, but that might not be the direction your looking for.

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • BlueSmoke
    BlueSmoke Posts: 1,678
    Howard,
    Glad you're okay: "out" is the best place to be in relation to the hospital![p]Here's a rough idea of how I make greens gumbo.[p]Greens Gumbo
    1/3 cup oil
    1/3 cup flour
    Assorted greens, about 3 pounds total
    1 medium onion chopped
    1 tablespoon crushed chile
    Salt and pepper to taste[p]If using fresh greens, pick over carefully. Remove tough stems, chop coarsely and rinse. (If using packaged greens, just rinse.)[p]With the oil and flour make a roux.[p]Add greens and onion; stir to coat. When greens begin to wilt, add crushed chile and sufficient water to cover. Cover pot and simmer at least one hour. Serve over fresh rice.[p]*Because the recipe I learned years ago was called “Seven Greens Gumbo”, I like to use an assortment of greens, including oddities such as radish and carrot tops along with the more ordinary kale, collards, mustards, turnips, and spinach.[p]I also like to render out half a pound of bacon, removing the meat and using the drippings to make the roux. Add the meat back when you add the water.

  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    BlueSmoke,
    That sounds really good. How dark of a roux do you make? And when you said render out half a pound of bacon does that mean you are not fully cooking (as in still limp)the bacon before adding it to the greens?[p]Thanks
    ~thirdeye~

    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    BlueSmoke,
    so im not the only one to toss the carrot greens into the pot. sounds good especially with the bacon broth.

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    fishlessman,[p]Taint bacon broth, not gravy either, it's pot likker. Best enjoyed with some cornbread. LOL[p]~thirdeye~

    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • Clay Q
    Clay Q Posts: 4,486
    Howard,
    Glad your ok. About greens, has anyone mentioned Swiss chard? That and spinach are "super foods" and just about as green as you can get. Both are similar to cook by steam, simmer in liquid, saut'e and stir fry. Another thought is a juicer to make a vege cocktail.
    Good luck,
    Clay

  • Borders ,
    I do collard greens about the same way as you except I use
    lemon juice instead of cider vinegar. I usually use leftover or frozen ham from Mr. Egg, but next time I'm out
    I'll try the liquid smoke.
    Good idea![p]Grillnut

  • Borders
    Borders Posts: 665
    Grillnut at Norcross Ace, Thanks. I tried the liquid smoke, not for health reasons, but out of necessity one day. it works great.

  • BlueSmoke
    BlueSmoke Posts: 1,678
    thirdeye,
    I usually go with a peanut (color) roux. When I render bacon, I cook it fully crisp trying to get as much fat as I can.[p]The original recipe came from the Dover Books reprint of the New Orleans Times Picayune Cookbook.[p]Ken

  • Howard,[p]Thanks for a good direction too take on some of these. I heard that kale is quite bitter, I only saw it used for presentation, never tasted it. Anyway, thanks again for guiding me in the right direction of how to use them.[p]Howard

  • bbqwizard
    bbqwizard Posts: 119
    Howard,[p]You can add kale to soups to help get rid of the bitterness. Also, not sure if anyone posted this down below, but sauteed spinach (0r any green really) is fantastic. just use a teaspoon of evoo (good-for-you-fats) in a pan heat it up a little add chopped fresh garlic and a huge handful of the green stuff in there. Cover the pot and in a couple minutes it'll be reduced down to about nothing. Stir it up and enjoy. Go easy on the heat though, you dont want to burn the stuff.[p]glad to hear you're alright.[p]phillip

  • SuperDave
    SuperDave Posts: 319
    Howard,
    I throw a half a bunch of fresh Kale into my Beef Stew when it looks good for that very reason. I never notice the taste because everything else tastes so good!
    Good luck, I too would love to eat healthier, but really don't know how.
    Greens are great but I think cooking them in bacon fat kind of defeats the purpose! lol...[p]David