Thursday, January 11, 2024

A Mess Of Greens

We're expecting low temperatures 
in the 20's next week.

Texans are not built for that!

And neither is my garden, so I went out today to harvest as many greens as I could.


As it turns out, it was A LOT of greens...
The washed greens covered the span of my island!

 Hardy greens like kale, collards, mustards, and swiss chard all lend themselves to freezing and the process in incredibly easy. 

After a thorough washing and removing the stems, roll stacks of your greens into a "cigar" shape and then make rough chops across.


Heat a large pot of water to just under boiling.  Put your greens in and blanche for 3 minutes.  Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and submerge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.  Keep the leaves in the ice water for 3 minutes then wring them out really well. 


Pack your greens in a quart sized zip lock freezer bag, press out all the air, and seal.


These little packets of goodness will keep 10-12 months in the freezer.

It's so nice to have these on hand to throw into a soup or smoothie.  But my favorite way is to boil a smoked ham hock and onion in some chicken stock and add the greens to that for a good 'ol southern "mess of greens."

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