Sunday, January 4, 2009

Greens, Peas, Beans, and New Year's notes

We've received so many fabulous greens in our farm box, that I've been looking for ways to do them justice. I found this recipe for Sauteed Greens with Cannellini Beans and Garlic a Bon Appétit recipe on epicurious.com. It's quickly become my favorite way to enjoy greens. In the picture above, I've used kale and canned white beans, although I've also made it without any beans.

Here in the South, New Year's Day is traditionally celebrated with a meal of (collard) greens and (black eyed) peas. Of course black eyed peas are really a dried bean, so I figured this recipe was a perfect vehicle for luck in the New Year. On January 1, I made it with kale and some field peas that I'd cooked with lardons in the summer and frozen.

cook's notes:

- Kale is my favorite green for this recipe.

- I use half the amount of broth that the recipe specifies.

- I've made this recipe with and without the white beans, and it's good both ways.

the verdict:

We love this method of eating greens! The greens are just tender and the sherry vinegar adds a little bite to the garlicky oil that lightly coats the greens.

I think the dried beans are fantastic combined with the greens, but my husband prefers his greens in their unadorned glory. Actually, he probably prefers them boiled up and doused with Bruce's hot sauce, the way he ate them growing up!

2009:

In my forays in the foodie-net I've read lots of bloggy posts that celebrate the start of the new year. There are round-ups of the past year, resolutions for the new year, and cooking goals.

While I'm not organized enough to post a round-up, nor disciplined enough to make a list of resolutions, I do have a few cooking aspirations for 2009. The first is to take on yeast cookery. I'd also like to make some fresh pasta. My weekly cooking will probably included more lentils and dried beans. And I will continue to balance expanding my baking repertory without expanding my waistline!

6 comments:

Audrey said...

Those are wonderful goals...especially the last one (me, too.) As always, I'm going to enjoy following your cooking and baking paths. Happy New Year!
Audrey

Di said...

That looks terrific! I just added kale to my shopping list for next week, and I already have the cannellini beans and garlic. =)

I can't wait to see what you come up with this year. Bread and pasta making are lots of fun. =) And I'm with you on the balancing act.

Reeni said...

Cannellini beans and garlic are two of my household's favorite things! I have actually been craving greens for some strange reason. I can't wait to try this out! It looks really good.

Cathy said...

This looks like the perfect recipe for greens! I like how you can play around different combinations of greens and peas/beans to suit your taste. I'm with you on attempting more yeast baking in '09! And after reading Proud Italian Cook's ravioli-making post a couple of months ago, I became mildly obsessed with getting into pasta-making (although realistically it might have to wait for '10 or '11 for me). I look forward to following your cooking and baking adventures this year!

Steph said...

Yum!! I love greens, peas and beans, but usually I'm lazy and just boil them with water and salt. Your version looks much tastier!

TeaLady said...

Nancy - how do you find time to post almost every day? Thanks for visiting. Yeast bread is really easy as long as all ingredients are fresh and good. Made bread at friends house this weekend and water is awful. Bread tasted old and stale. Next time bottled water. Have fun with it and come back often.