Brightening Up Winter

Even though I worked last week, I had New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off, which really left 2 short week-ettes. So, that leaves this week feeling like my first back after a while. Tonight, I was determined to whip up a quick dinner before going out to a salsa lesson. I was so pleased to have a dinner of all local ingredients, use up more of my oranges and then go be healthy and social. Well, it turns out salsa starts next week, but at least I have a fun new recipe to share with you.

Greens in Orange Sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 bunch greens, destemmed and chopped
juice of 1 medium orange (about 1/2 cup for those not trying to burn through oranges)
1 tsp soy sauce
3 gloves garlic, minced
1/2 inch ginger, peeled & minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (or more)

Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in the bottom of a medium sauce pan over medium heat. While heating up, lightly beat eggs with garlic powder, then cook until just firm. Set eggs aside.
Heat rest of oil in the same pan, still over medium heat. Add greens. While they begin to soften, mix remaining ingredients, then pour over greens in pan. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until greens are tender. Add egg back in, stirring to evenly distribute sauce, and cook until sauce has mostly evaporated. Serve over rice.

Serves 2.

Favorite Greens

Way back when I started this blog, I mentioned my favorite way of preparing greens. This is so easy and perfect for stronger flavored greens, like collards, kale, turnip or mustard greens, and chard. It's a healthier, meat free version of the greens my grandmothers always prepared. And because they remind me of grandmas, I think they're the perfect side dish to mac & cheese, another traditional Southern comfort food. If I'm proactive, I pick up different flavors of cheese, keep them in my fridge, then grate them over plain hot elbow noodles. Tonight, I went the lazy route and opened a box of Amy's whole wheat & white cheddar.

Timing wise, I start heating the skillet & adding the onions & garlic after I put water on to boil. The greens are started after the noodles are added to boiling water. The greens should be finished right when the noodles are ready to be drained.

Favorite Greens:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion, sliced thin
pinch crushed red pepper
salt, to taste
1 bunch greens, thick stems removed and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp acid (apple cider/balsamic/red wine/flavored vinegar or lemon juice)
1 tbsp sugar

Heat oil in the bottom of a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onions, season with salt & red pepper, and sautee for 5 min, stirring frequently, until vegetables are soft and onions are beginning to brown. Add remaining ingredients and sautee, stirring occasionally for 5-10 min, until greens are very tender. Adjust seasonings, acid/sugar balance.

Serves 4.

Wednesday Chef

I'll confess, I came across the previous recipe thanks to the Wednesday Chef. I love checking out her blog for analysis of NYTimes recipes and ideas for how to use seasonal produce. Unfortunately, as she lives in NYC, her produce tends to come into season just a little after mine. But, checking out her archives is always an adventure.

Another one of my perennial favorites that I found on her website is Regina Schrambling's Collard Squares. When I want to take more than 15 minutes to simply sautee my greens, I make a version of this. The collards aren't bitter, caramelized onions provide sweetness, and the addition of eggs and cheese make this almost an entire meal in one dish. I love this with a side of cornbread to make it feel just a little bit more Southern.

Like most of my recipes, play with the proportions, substitute the Cheddar with Swiss or Mozzarella, portabellos or cremini for shiitakis. Even the collards can be substituted with some other bitter greens, like mustard or turnip tops. Heck, if you're a mushroom-phobe, substitute ham. And increase all ingredients by 50% and baked in a 9x13 pan for a larger crowd.

Collard Squares
1 large bunch collards, washed thoroughly, destemmed and coarsely shredded
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb shiitakes, destemmed and diced (dried and rehydrated shiitakes do great in this recipe)
1/2 tsp soy sauce
4 large eggs
2 oz shredded cheddar
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Place collards, pepper and pinch of salt in a large pot with water to cover. Simmer covered for 20 min, then drain.

While collards are simmering, heat butter in the bottom of a skillet. Sautee onions and garlic with a pinch of salt until softened. Add mushrooms and soy sauce, sautee for an additional 5-7 minutes before removing from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 inch casserole dish (I do like to use butter for this).

Combine cooked vegetables in a bowl (I use the empty pot when I don't want to wash more dishes) and add rest of the ingredients, mixing until everything is well combined. Pour into casserole and bake for 20 min.

Serves 4

Southern Harvest Soup

Last weekend for my birthday, the Cajun and I took BC on a hike to the Eno. It was a gorgeous day, with the leaves finally changing, just right for jeans and a long sleeve shirt, and one of the few upsides of the recent drought was no mud. We packed a picnic of sourdough whole wheat bread, a nice brie studded with mushrooms, a cucumber and a thermos of what I like to call Southern Harvest Soup. And if you promise not to tell on me, we even took the pup off the leash while we ate. Sshh. There's some leash-law aficionados lurking about. Who needs jewelry when a girl gets the perfect afternoon?


Southern Harvest Soup

2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 lrg onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 med butternut squash
1 lb sweet potato, diced
1 cup fresh or 1 can or 1/2 cup soaked overnight butterbeans
1 bunch collards, rinsed, de-stemmed and chopped
4 cups vegetable broth

To prep butternut squash, cut in half, scoop out seeds, place cut side down on plate with 1 in water, then wrap in plastic wrap, before microwaving on high for 15 min.

In a large stockpot, sautee onion and garlic in olive oil or butter. When translucent, add broth and bring to a simmer. Add in sweet potato, butterbeans and collards and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir in butternut squash, adjust seasonings to taste, then simmer uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

Or, if you're lazy like I was, combine all ingredients except garlic in crockpot and cook for 8-9 hours on low, then add garlic powder in last 30 minutes of cooking.

Serves 6-8


P.S. Still working on the food photography.