Innovative Veggie Recipes
If you’re like most people, when you think of collard greens there’s not a lot of interest. Collards rank with kale as the most nutrient dense vegetables you can buy, but neither is very popular with the average American.
One reason people don’t like them much is that the ones we commonly find in stores and roadside stands are large, tough, fully matured leaves. Also, most don’t know ways to cook these vegetables to make them really tasty.
We joined Annie’s Organic Buying Club a few weeks ago so that we can receive a variety of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables every week at wholesale prices. The food is so packed with flavor, very much like what I’ve grown in my former gardens.
This week’s treasure box included some young collard leaves along with a bunch of leeks.
Here’s how I made Stir-fry Collards with Leeks:
- Wash and cut up greens.
- Blanch in a big pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes.
- Drain in colander.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a wok and add greens.
- Chop 1 or 2 leeks and add them to wok.
- Stir-fry 2-3 minutes until veggies are tender.
Recently I had this for brunch with roasted sweet potatoes and it made a complete and delicious meal. [Cut up taters, toss with a little oil; bake in greased casserole, covered at 450 for 45-60 minutes or till tender and a little crispy at the edges.]
I put a pint of collards in a bowl with an equal amount of sweet potatoes on top. Topped it all with a 6-ounce container of Brown Cow cream-top yogurt. The creamy tart dairy against sweet and crispy taters together with succulent oniony tender greens - wow! Try it and you’ll agree, so good!
I actually brought this food into work in containers and ate it there. If you have a microwave and a refrigerator where you work, there’s no reason you can’t have home cooked lunches. Venture outside the box and enjoy fabulous food in unusual combinations!
