9 Nov 2014

eating more greens

With apologies to Kermit, but, it's not always easy being green. Eating green, that is; leafy green stuff. Last week I declared my kitchen a leafy-green-free-zone, and (almost) happily ignored the forest of silverbeet and kale threatening to take over my garden, kitchen and insides. I ate cauliflower, sweet potato, carrot, beetroot, normal spuds, red and yellow capsicum. I returned to the rainbow of eating.

Because all it seemed I had been eating up until that tipping point of 'enough!' was silverbeet and kale. With the plants in my garden taking advantage of the (fleeting) warm spring weather (dear reader, we have been up and down lately, with quite a lot of snow-on-the-mountain plunging us back into our winter woolllens), I was suddenly dealing with an awful lot of leafy greens. 
 
Sometimes I go thru these blinkered, perverse phases where I eat only what I grow, which is pretty silly when right now the only things I can harvest are silverbeet and kale. But it's like a kind of obsession: 'It's here, I grew it, I have to eat it! I can't waste it by buying other vegetables!'. My garden is a monoculture, my kitchen is a monoculture. My digestive system ... let's leave it at that.

It's not always been boring, and one can get inventive if forced too. I've been eating the greens with pasta sauce, with nutty chickpeas and plenty of onions, with toasted almonds and other garnishes to disguide their greenness. I've made the ubiquitous vegie slice. I've discovered a dressing of lemon juice and walnut oil pairs beautiful with the earthiness of silverbeet.
 
I have an Ottolenghi recipe (right now, who doesn't?) that I want to try where the silverbeet (or chard as it called in the northern hemisphere) is sauteed in wine; it's the one technique I haven't yet tried, and let's face it, just about anything tastes better when cooked in a little booze.
 
I even dabbled in 'cucina povera' - peasant food; in Italian, it sounds so much fancier - where I dressed some lightly steamed, limey green stalks with walnut oil and black sesame seeds. I thought it looked rather elegant.
 
 
The silverbeet is now going to seed very quickly (I'm sure because I cannot pick it fast enough), and unfortunately some of the kale is getting thick with those ugly grey aphids. The seeding towers of silverbeet will soon be delivered to mum's chooks (though the small baby leaves that pop out the stalks are still tender and delicious). But more seriously, I have decided that a dozen or so plants or silverbeet and the same of kale may look lush, but are not practical for a single person to consume. It is all growing faster than I can eat it (especially now I am eating other vegetables), and I really hate to grow food and then waste it. So when these plants are finished, next time I shall stick to a more managable two or three plants each.
 
 
But finally, a pretty non-green corner of my kitchen ... drat, some kale got in there, too!.
 

26 comments:

  1. I love eating Silverbeet when we are in NZ. I was inundated with gifts from our neighbour and devised a very tasty recipe. In a pan sauté thinly sliced onion and a couple of cloves of garlic. Add 1/2 tsp of cumin, dried coriander powder and salt and pepper. Then add thinly sliced courage totes ( yellow make a nice colour contrast to the dish), then add the thinly sliced red bits and torn leaves of Silverbeet. It is great on its own, with brown rice, fish or chicken. Enjoy!

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    1. oooh, that would be lovely linda. i don't even know whether i have cumin in the cupbaord - it's not a flvour i use often, but it would be nice with the earthiness of silverbeet. thankyiou!

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  2. Just re-read my comment. Sorry the predictive text thingy has made a crazy bit of my comment. It should read yellow COURGETTES! Hey ho!

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    1. i'm sitting here thinking "courage totes, my goodness, what is that?' google sorted it out for me! :-)

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    2. I'm laughing too. I read this recipe and thought never heard of that vegetable and where on earth can I get seeds to grow my very own courage totes.
      (Sounds like a ladies very brave handbag!)

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    3. it does!! and i agree - i was thinking"is this a new super-food vegie we need to start growing ?!' :-) :-)

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  3. Haha - I call my kale the kale forest. Much of it is gone to seed, which I don't feel bad about because it just means I have free seed. Probably won't be true to type but that's half the fun.
    I think anything more than two plants of kale and one of silverbeet per person is asking for trouble. The problem is that if they die you are left with nothing. I always grow more than I need, then rip the extras out to let the strongest grow. More plants just means more compost.
    Good to read you're back to the veg rainbow though. :)

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    1. you've hit the nail on the head bek - we plant so much to be guaranteed a crop. but your system sounds good.
      yup, really enjoying orange vegies at the moment :-)

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  4. I eat a lot of greens too and like you chard and kale are two of my favorites. I grow a 1'x8' row of chard (30 cm x 3.5 m) and a lot more than that in kale. And I have to give some away usually, but this year I ate it. I think I'm getting more into eating greens. I do try to eat greens at every meal - not that I succeed all the time. But I also have something else. Something more colorful.

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    1. i eat greens at lunch and dinner - and as much as i may complain, i would feel like something was missing if i went without for too long. and i shall miss them when the crops are finished.
      your rows are about double the size of mine, so i am impressed you can eat all of that, daphne! you must be super duper healthy!! :-)

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  5. Love my greens. I've been drinking a lot of green juices lately. Has done wonders for my energy levels. Hope you're well. I was actually thinking of you today. My brother has recently started up Hobart City Farm, have you heard of it?

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    1. thank you carla - i am. i just saw your own update, and it's lovely to hear you are settling in well.
      i haven't heard of hobart city farm - i must find out more! thanks for the tip off!

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  6. I'm envying you your greens, the slugs and snails have nibbled their way through a lot of mine. But you're right, there can be too much of a good thing. It's always tricky getting the right balance of things isn't it. CJ xx

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    1. very true, CJ. i guess it's why i never feel guilty having cake, as i have munched my way thru a mountain of chlorophyll first :-)

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  7. What a good girl eating those greens! We are lucky having chooks .. I don't feel bad sharing the greenery with them. Spinach pan fried with mushies, garlic, butter, and some soy is Yummo!

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    1. thank you frogpond ;-)
      ooooh, you're making me want some greens again, frogpond! and yes, chooks help take care of all sorts of over-supplies!

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  8. Well done you on eating your greens... I'm doing that as often as possible too, it's just my Peter I have to convince. But I have Yotam to help me... all of his books... Love colour of those flowers... striking!

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    1. i have had a batch of yotam's books out of the library recently and he really loves chard, so i've gotten some great ideas from him.
      the flowers are alstroemerias from mum's garden. they are gorgeous aren't they?

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  9. A dozen plants each of kale and silverbeet... it's no wonder you're drowning in green veg! Saying that, have you tried Sarah Raven's kale bruschetta (http://www.sarahraven.com/articles/winter_greens_crostini.htm) ? - healthy and tasty, which is always good.

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    1. oooh, i just checked that out, i like the flavours in that! thank you GD.

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  10. So green...so much goodness! Lovely to see a little glimpse of your kitchen too x

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    1. yes jane, i do remind myself all these greens are very good for me. touch wood, maybe it's why i never get sick!

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  11. I've had a great season here in Brisbane with my kale and silver beet and I know what you mean about eat your greens. Fortunately I can eat steamed silver beet like sweeties. Especially with a nob of butter on the top,

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    1. hello jean, and welcome to dig in. i must admit i've been favouring olive or walnut oil over butter recently, but a lovely pat of melty butter (with a little salt) is a delicious thingt!

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  12. I confess - I gave the last little bit of silverbeet to the worm farm
    the other day. The guilt! The guilt! It grows so well in winter,
    especially in the shady parts of the garden, that I always plant
    way too much.

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    1. Hello Barbara! ah, i love your confession, you sound just like me! maybe i need some worms to help ease my over supply.

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