Picking Collards

Recently I drove out to Jubilee Farm to harvest some collard greens. I needed the greens for my grilled veggie mix but, more than that, I just needed to get out of town and slow down a bit. I'd been running hard all week working to get the cafe open and I still had a long list of things to do, but I went with my gut feeling that said to go harvest the greens.

It was a gorgeous day. It had rained a lot recently so it was too muddy for me to drive out to the rows of greens so I hiked with my big plastic totes. The leaves snapped right off so I was able to gather a lot of them very quickly. I was getting a very good deal so I looked for leaves with some bug holes, perfectly good food that might otherwise have gone to waste. Even the slightly damaged leaves were healthy and gorgeous. I was happy with my haul.

I can't think of a better way to have used my time on that particular afternoon. I came back feeling rejuvenated, and rich in collard greens.

I love collard greens. I've heard that I shouldn't eat a lot of them because they have some chemical that impedes thyroid activity and I have thyroid issues, but they've got so much else going for them nutritionally that I figure the benefits outweigh the negatives.My favorite way to cook collard greens is to slice them really finely, to pieces the size of cole slaw cabbage. It's easiest to take a few leaves and roll them tightly before slicing. Then I heat some olive oil, saute a few chopped cloves of garlic, and add the collard greens with a bit of salt. They cook in just a few minutes, and they're great with beans and rice, Brazilian style.