Beans and greens

While I’m out planting the bulbs this Sunday afternoon, I’ll also be thinking about beans and greens and whether I want to start any beans on top of the stove or in the crockpot. I’m trying to insert more beans and greens into my diet, and it’s becoming fairly easy. This is to help reduce my cholesterol and lose some weight.

CSA bags almost always have greens in winter.

Because I belong to a CSA–Community Supported Agriculture–I get a lot of greens in my weekly bag. Although I like greens, they aren’t my favorite thing to eat. Pizza is actually my favorite thing ever, but my 60-year-old body needs fewer carbs. If you’re trying to eat fewer carbs or less meat, beans and greens are the way to go.

I was surprised at how much I actually loved beans and greens once I figured out the best way to cook them. I especially like when I have more than one variety of green to place in the pot.

I cook the greens in two separate ways.

The first way is super easy. I chop one whole onion–we like the sweet ones when we can get them–and three or four cloves of garlic. I cut out the midribs of the greens–you can eat them, but I don’t because I already have so many greens–and then I chop or tear the leaves into pieces. The pieces can be any size you like.

If you use the midribs, you’ll need to cook them a little before adding the leaves because the stems are tougher. I then saute the onion and garlic, and once those start to become golden, I put in the greens. Sometimes I have a lot of greens, and I put them in a little at a time to cook down before adding the next batch. You’ll be really surprised at how much they reduce in size.

Then, I just cook them to the desired doneness, where they are still pretty bright green, and at the end, I add some sort of acid. I especially like cider vinegar. These are the greens I use to top any beans I’ve made.

The second way I cook my greens came from The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables–with Recipes, by Farmer Lee Jones. If you don’t know Jones, you should. He has one of the coolest farms on the planet. I just wish I lived nearby to go to his farmstand for produce. You can now subscribe to his farm boxes, but they are pricey. They would, however, make great gifts for the vegetarian or vegetable lover in your life.

Anyway, in his cookbook, there’s a recipe for cooking broccoli leaves which also works for any kind of green, in my opinion. He doesn’t have the recipe online, but I can share that the secret to its deliciousness is bacon, hot sauce like Louisiana brand, and molasses. You cook these greens for two hours. They were delicious. I take all of my cooked greens, no matter how I make them, and freeze them in small sandwich bags and using as needed.

Now for the beans.

I’m a huge fan of Rancho Gordo’s beans which I’ve written about before. I’m trying to incorporate beans into my diet at least three times a week. A pound makes a lot, so I bought this one-cup Souper Cubes freezer tray to freeze them in portions. It would be a great gift for any cook because you can freeze soups and other stuff in one-cup portions, which are perfect for lunch. I then pop them out and place them in freezer storage bags.

That way, I always have beans. You can also use canned. Just don’t forget to drain and rinse them. However, I’ll say your own beans that you’ve cooked with onion, celery, and carrots, along with a bit of Mexican oregano–the Rancho Gordo method— are superior to canned beans.

On top of the beans, I put some of the greens and heat it all up. I sometimes top them with sour cream and a few roasted pumpkin seeds. Costco has great ones with sea salt. You could also use cheese if you want. This is also good on top of quinoa.

So, beans and greens, that’s what I’m thinking about this week. What are you up to in the kitchen this week? I’d love to hear.