Eat your Greens

Eat your greens. I eat greens once a day. Mustard greens, various kales, spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard, yep, I eat them all. My husband has developed a taste for them too. He really doesn’t have a choice.

When do I eat them? Breakfast, lunch or dinner. The tougher the green, the more I cook it. Yesterday, I made some mustard greens and spinach sautéed in bacon fat with a bit of sea salt. That is my favorite preparation for spinach.

I always have some bacon fat in the refrigerator. My husband says I only make bacon for the fat. He might be correct. A few comments about bacon. I buy uncured, nitrate free bacon made from humanely treated animals. I do not buy conventionally raised pork. Since I am talking about food, I will spare you the details. But, go read Eating Animals. Since I bake my bacon, it is super easy to drain all that lovely fat.

Yesterday’s Greens: I heated a tablespoon (maybe a couple of tbsp) bacon fat over medium heat. I washed mustard greens and spinach well. The greens will be huge in the pan. I kept turning them over with tongs until all are well wilted. I then added a tiny bit of stock, like a quarter of a cup (sometimes I just use pan drippings from whatever meat I have made for the meal) and let them cook just a bit more but make sure they are still bright green. Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve.

If I would have made something tougher like kale, I would have started off with fat (usually some chicken fat) heated over medium heat. I would have wilted the greens just to the point where everything fits in the pan. Then, add stock – I almost always use chicken stock as that what I have on hand. But, beef stock and lamb stock are awesome in this. Put the lid on and cook until soft. Since I use homemade stock, sometimes I need to add sea salt and sometimes it already has enough seasoning.

Greens are good with meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. If I have leftovers, I store them with any liquid left in the pan.

So, eat your greens.