HARVEST FAVORITES

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NATURAL KITCHEN

Indulging in your fresh garden bounty.

by Anne Vassal

Oh happy day, it's harvest time again. For those of us who planted a garden, we're up to our ears in root vegetables, squash, leeks, tomatoes, greens, and whatever else decided to pop up. If you don't have a garden, maybe your back porch is full of bushel baskets from the nearest stand, just waiting for your undivided attention. With all that picking, canning, freezing, and eating on the agenda, no one has time for fancy cooking. We've tried to help you ease into the harvest season gracefully with some easy favorites that you may not have tried before. And if you still have some leftover produce, don't panic, just bless the neighbors.

Greens

Greens have mainly been appreciated in Southern-style cuisine, but are gaining popularity everywhere.. They're rich in chlorophyll, which is what makes the leaves dark green and full of vitamin A and C, especially when eaten raw. If you're cutting back on dairy products and are concerned about your calcium intake, then greens are the solution without the cholesterol.

Cooking Greens

The Southern method is to boil them for about 30 minutes, drain, and then saute in bacon fat. Since we want to preserve nutrients and lower the fat, stir-frying is the best way to cook them. Stir the chopped greens in a hot skillet with olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper for a few minutes until wilted. The greens should be bright green, and a bit chewy.

Kale Salad

Kale salad has loads of flavor, and holds up better than spinach
when tossed with a hot dressing

Remember when we used to eat spinach salad with bacon dressing? Delicious, but too high in fat by today's standards and too soggy by the time the dressing soaked in. Since kale is one of the most nutritious greens, I prefer to make a kale salad, which has loads of flavor and holds up better than spinach when tossed with a hot dressing.

4 cups chopped kale leaves, packed down (chopoff the stems & cut across the leaf, cutting one-hal-finch strips)
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red pepper (or use 1 red & 1 yellow pepper) cut into thin strips
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
salt, pepper to taste

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