Cooking Winter Greens

I was listening to NPR this morning and was inspired by the segment they had on farming and cooking winter greens. As soon as it stops raining, I am going to work on my garden and definitely start planting more winter greens like rainbow chard, mustard greens and kale.

The key to cooking greens they said is to allow them to keep their crunch, wilted greens aren't as tasty and don't retain the vitamins as they do when raw. Here is a simple recipe they discussed on the segment, you can also find it on the NPR site.

Maggie Starbard/NPRWilted Hardy Greens With Garlic
Ingredients:

• 1 pound of mixed baby greens (kale, swiss chard, mustard greens)
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive or sunflower oil
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic

Wash the greens and drain in a colander, leaving some moisture on the leaves. Heat a saute pan large enough to accommodate all of the greens over medium heat. Add oil, then the chopped garlic. Saute until softened, about 1 minute, stirring often to prevent the garlic from burning - don't let the garlic get brown. Add the greens. Toss and saute them until they are wilted. Season with salt and pepper. If too dry, add more liquid.

For more on farming winter greens, check out NPR's "Old-Time Methods Yield Spring Greens All Winter"