295681 Sun Jan 11 12:50:55 -0800 2004 20 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1625910 No, not the restaurant. Nor the politcal party. The kind you eat. Most people either love them or hate them, and those that love them often love one kind or another, while declaring eternal damnation towards other varieties of the leafy vegetables. I liked the article, and as an afficianado of all sorts of greens, it made me laugh several times aloud. There are also some good recipes at the end. Anyone else here love good, green leafy things on your plate? Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/11/magazine/11FOOD.html Sun Jan 11 12:50:55 -0800 2004 0 BarbaraF 1 1625927 Absolutely! Last night, having found a great, fresh bunch of kale, I sauteed it in olive oil for a few minutes, put the lid on the sautee pan until it wilted, then just before serving added some Thai fried garlic to the greens until the garlic warmed up and drizzled about a teaspoon of nam pla (fish sauce) over the top. Sounds bizarre, I know, but it was delicious. Even my wife, who doesn't care too much for greens, thought it was good. Sun Jan 11 16:33:48 -0800 2004 1625910 0 Kirk 1 1625934 I made an insanely good green, leafy thing this morning: Sauteed baby Russian Kale with onion, garlic and red pepper which is then covered in water and boiled until tender. Then, you scoop out a tongful of kale and drop it into an omelet pan and crack a few fresh eggs atop the pile until the eggs are cooked but plenty runny. Slide onto a plate and top with shaved Pecorino and a side of crisp toast and oven baked bacon. Happy to see the article, confirming my love for the dark green. Sun Jan 11 19:49:53 -0800 2004 1625910 0 Fidelixi 1 1625936 Love greens. Arugula, baby spinach, kale, rapini, you name it. They are always good sauteed with a little garlic. The other day I briefly boiled rapini, mixed it with a bunch of caramelized onions and pine nuts, and used it over good pasta drizzled with olive oil & topped with a little parmesan. Sun Jan 11 20:28:43 -0800 2004 1625910 0 snackish 1 1625939 I'm glad to see that I am not the only person who is insanely fond of the green leafy things. I went to a different Asian market than we usually visit, and was ecstatic to find snowpea shoots there--they had both the very tiny baby ones and the regular ones. I bought about a pound or so of the bigger ones, and cooked them for the past two days in a Cantonese style--a small amount of peanut oil in a wok, with about two cloves of garlic minced, then the pile of peashoots, then a good stirring, then about 1/3 of a cup of good chicken stock (I had leftover wonton soup I had made a couple of days ago--that worked), and more stirring, and at the end a tiny drizzle of sesame oil, and sometimes a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Very good. Tonight, we had shanghai baby bok choi with garlic, scallion and ginger, a bit of Shao Hsing wine, some broth and a dash of soy sauce. Very nice. I have an idea for lacinato kale stir fried with Chinese sausage, garlic and fresh chilis, with a tiny drizzle of soy sauce and a bit of Chianking vinegar. I will report back on that after I pick up some kale and try it out. Sun Jan 11 21:16:00 -0800 2004 1625910 0 BarbaraF 2 1625946 Now that's sophistication!...peashoots (I think they call them "dome-yow" are a treasure when in season...check out the choi sum and Chinese broccoli, vastly different from bok choi & American broccoli...preferred sauteed in garlic and high-end olive oil; Also ginger-scallion sauce. Mon Jan 12 01:06:53 -0800 2004 1625939 0 Mike R. 3 1625969 I haven't tried choi sum yet, but I love Chinese broccoli (gai lan, I think), and my husband will eat that before he will eat regular old broccoli. (Though I have to admit a fondness not for the broccoli flowers, but the peeled stalks of conventional broccoli--which is why I eat kolrabi--tastes like the best part of broccoli.) Have you ever eaten mizuna? It is a very mild Japanese type of mustard green--shaped kind of like a dandelion leaf, but it has a wonderful crisp, clean flavor. Not as musky as a typical mustard green, nor as strong, when raw, it has a very cool, sort of sweet radish kind of taste. It is very good in salads, but it is even better with a bit of ginger and sesame oil and a tiny bit of red chili. A funny story--the first time I bought mizuna, it was at a farmer's market where I saw it and had no idea what it was, but the farmer had me taste it, and that was it. I snacked on it all the way home, and when I got home with it, I put the bag on the low table in my kitchen. Our dog, who is a Siberian husky and a picky eater, started nosing into the bag, which is quite unlike her. Then, one of my cats got up on the table and started pawing at the bag. Curious, I took a leaf out and ate it while they watched me. Then I offered a whole leaf to the dog and a piece of leaf to the cat. They both ate them. I did it again. They ate them. As long as I fed them leaves and bits of leaves, they munched happily. It was the oddest thing. It only happens with mizuna, and I have no idea why. The only other greens my cats eat are basil, parsley and oregano (catnip of course) which I discovered when I tried to winter over herbs in the house this year--they have been eaten to nubs. The dog doesn't eat greens as a matter of course at all. Except catnip. I think she thinks she is a cat. Very odd. But mizuna is very good--you should try it. Mon Jan 12 09:47:39 -0800 2004 1625946 0 BarbaraF 4 1626024 I haven't tried mizuna, but now, if I ever see it, I'll buy it. Even if I don't like it, it sounds like our two dogs might. On a related note -- I am always surprised by what my pets will be into -- especially greens. One time I was making snow peas -- just plain steamed snow peas -- and the dogs acted as if I was throwing around raw meat. I gave them each a taste, and they ate it ravenously, not even sniffing it suspiciously before they chomped. I could have fed them the entire bowl of snow peas if I hadn't wanted some for myself. They turn their noses up at thing like lettuce and tomatoes and carrots though. Go figure. Maybe they know something I don't! Mon Jan 12 15:44:41 -0800 2004 1625969 0 Mrs. Smith 5 1626295 Its funny--I had a cat who would eat frozen garden peas in preference to freshly roasted turkey. She'd eat them straight from the freezer, thawed or cooked and lightly buttered. She was an odd cat. I can no longer keep herbs in the house, because the cats eat them. One of mine would act like I had dragged in the bleeding carcass of a giant mouse every time I brought in a big bouquet of basil to make pesto this summer. (I grew about fifty basil plants to keep us well supplied in that department!) She would jump on the counter, where she knows she is not supposed to go, and would even go so far as to dip her paw into the colander that had water running into it and drag a sprig of it out, even though she'd get her paw wet, and would drag it off behind the couch to eat. My dog likes to eat catnip, fresh or dried. Maybe she thinks she is a giant cat. Wed Jan 14 00:26:19 -0800 2004 1626024 0 BarbaraF 4 1626094 Tried it, like it and have been buying it at the local NYC Greenmarkets for about 20 years now. Not to be confused with my Mizuno brand of softball mitt. Mon Jan 12 20:22:44 -0800 2004 1625969 0 Mike R. 4 1626096 Tried it, like it and have been buying it at the local NYC Greenmarkets for about 20 years now. Not to be confused with my Mizuno brand of softball mitt. Mon Jan 12 20:23:11 -0800 2004 1625969 0 Mike R. 4 1626097 Tried it, like it and have been buying it at the local NYC Greenmarkets for about 20 years now. Not to be confused with my Mizuno brand of softball mitt. Mon Jan 12 20:24:21 -0800 2004 1625969 0 Mike R. 2 1626004 I never went for greens until I lived in China for a couple of years. Amazing greens of all types. Most of them cooked in lard (or rendered pieces of pork fat), which makes all the difference. What I wouldn't give for a good dish of Kongxin Cai here. I can buy it in Asian specialty stores (called "Swamp Cabbage"), but it is too mature and old. Sigh..... Mon Jan 12 13:49:53 -0800 2004 1625939 0 Nick Z 3 1626294 Do you have a patch of ground where you can grow things? If so, Evergreen Seeds company specializes in Asian vegetable seeds. You may be able to find seeds for the green that you long for. A word of warning--lots of Chinese greens have lots of different names. Link: http://store.yahoo.com/evergreenseeds/index.html Wed Jan 14 00:21:10 -0800 2004 1626004 0 BarbaraF 4 1626315 Thanks for the link -- but they don't carry them. Apparently, they are clssified as "noxious" in many states, so it isn't easy to get them. Wed Jan 14 13:09:43 -0800 2004 1626294 0 Nick Z 5 1626334 That's crappy, Nick. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. You might be able to grow some other interesting greens, though. I'm excited because I made the lacinato kale with the Chinese sausage last night and my husband thought they were good enough to have again...this is a big step forward for him. He didn't used to eat kale at all, so slowly, but surely, I am convincing him that green things are good. Wed Jan 14 21:00:00 -0800 2004 1626315 0 BarbaraF 1 1625944 While I have to admit that Lately, I have been sauteing collard greens in olive oil with a lot of garlic, I prefer to do the collard greens with red pepper flakes and good smoked neck bones. Although my next attempt will be done with smoked turkey wings once I get a good recipe. When I am in a bind, I take canned greens and toss them into a skillet where I have rendered some proscuitto. When all else fails, I use Glory brand greens which are the finest canned vegetables on the market. Link: http://www.gloryfoods.com/ Mon Jan 12 00:45:04 -0800 2004 1625910 0 jlawrence01 2 1625968 Another Glory Foods afficianado! Glad to know that I am not the only one. I like their canned turnip greens and the mixed greens. I keep a can in the pantry just in case I wake up at night with a hankering for greens or some such emergency. Mon Jan 12 09:37:58 -0800 2004 1625944 0 BarbaraF 3 1625979 I enjoy the greens products and the bean products. Great flavor and a good value despite their price. I did not like the corn bread mix as much as the usual Fiffy brand. I would like to try more of their products but they are not real easy to find. However, with Woodman's Markets opening in the next two months in Lake in the Hills, IL, I expect to see all of their brands available. Mon Jan 12 11:38:55 -0800 2004 1625968 0 jlawrence01 1 1625978 I love greens too, in fact we grow several varieties for our customers at farmers market and our CSA. One interesting weed that is a delicious, edible cooking green that some of you might have growing in your yard: lambs quarters! I've included a link to a photo we took. When this 'weed' comes up we cut it and bring it to market, the chefs go wild for it. You can eat it raw or cooked 'like spinach' (the chicken of the greens world). Please let us know if you've cooked or enjoyed lambs quarters, or how you prepare them. thanks. Link: http://www.mariquita.com/images/photogallery/quelites.jpg Mon Jan 12 11:36:37 -0800 2004 1625910 0 Julia 2 1625989 I'm not wild about it raw, but I cook it like spinach or other tender greens. I prefer it small (under 10" high). Like spinach, you need a lot of it. It's the second thing up in the spring around here in the Boston area, after dandelions. Actually there's tons of it all year, but early spring's the only time I bother with it. Not sure if it's exactly the same plant, I think there are regional variations but they're all kinds of pigweed, IIRC. Mon Jan 12 12:14:54 -0800 2004 1625978 0 Aromatherapy