In general, you can wash and chop any combo of leafy greens (kale, spinach, collards, even radish and beet greens) and saute them in olive oil and garlic for just a couple minutes. Just long enough to wilt them. Then sprinkle them with balsamic vinegar or lemon. Takes five minutes and is a great vegetable dish. A reminder that eating cruciferous vegetables raw is a thyroid inhibitor. So if you have slow thyroid function, you should cook them first.

If you get more greens than you can eat in a week, they store well. Either wash and spin them and store in the frig in a salad spinner where they will last a week for sure or clean them up and get excess water off and freeze. You can also steam them slightly and freeze them in bags. They are great added later to soups and casseroles.

Sauteed Winter Greens

Take a mixture of washed organic greens (kale, beet greens, collards, chard) and chop up or cut up with kitchen scissors.

Saute a couple slices of bacon until crispy. Drain and set aside. Chop a medium onion and sautee the onion in the pan, lightly coated with bacon fat and a teaspoon of olive oil, for about 3 minutes.

Then add the chopped greens and saute on low heat, turning the greens over and over to cook evenly. Cook greens until they are wilted but still bright green. Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and toss. Saute another minute. Serve and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

Sauteed mustard greens

2 lbs washed and finely chopped or scissor-cut mustard greens.
3 tbs olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic

Chop and saute the garlic in olive oil. Add the greens and saute until wilted, but not over cooked. Sprinkle with hot pepper vinegar (optional). Mustard greens don’t need much seasoning because they have a distinctive flavor of their own. They are great raw in salads if you have the right digestive system.

Spicy Stir-Fried Radish Greens and/or Swiss Chard

Makes 2 servings, can be doubled.

8-10 ounces radish greens and/or swiss chard, washed and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2-3 tsp. peanut oil
2 large garlic cloves (for seasoning the oil)

sauce mixture:
1 T soy sauce (I like Kikkomans)
1 tsp. rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1 tsp. Agave nectar
1/4 tsp. (or less) Sriracha sauce or other hot sauce

Wash and dry radish greens and/or swiss chard. (I used a salad spinner.) If desired, soak greens for about 30 minutes in very cold water. (This makes sure they’re crisp for the quick stir-frying.) Working in batches, cut greens crosswise into 1/2 inch slices.

Mix together sauce ingredients and set aside. Preheat the wok or large, heavy frying pan until it feels very hot when you hold your hand there, then add the oil. When oil looks shimmery, add the garlic cloves and cook about 30 seconds, making sure garlic doesn’t start to brown. Remove garlic and discard.

Add chopped radish greens and/or swiss chard all at once and immediately begin to stir-fry, turning greens over and over just until they are almost all wilted. (For me this was only one minute, but I have a great gas stove with a burner with really high heat.) When greens are almost all wilted, add sauce ingredients, stir, and cook 30 seconds more. Serve hot.

Torte of Collards and Cheese

Serves 8

2 bunches collards, stemmed and cut in shreds
½ lb Gruyere cheese, grated
½ lb Asiago or Manchego cheese, grated
4 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 TBSP fresh oregano
Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F, and set a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Blanch collards in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain well.

Mix all ingredients and spread evenly into a 9×9 baking dish (or one about that size). Bake until the cheese on top browns, about 35-45 minutes (check every 10 minutes, starting at 30 minutes). Serve hot.