(2021) Napa Cabbage Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

I also ran into this recipe from Gourmet many years ago, Napa Cabbage Slaw with Radishes and Celery. We seem to be past having radishes in our box, but maybe you still have some of that celery from a few weeks ago. Anything crunchy would work. Cucumbers instead of radishes? And the dressing will work just as well on that bag of lettuce as it will in the slaw. The notes with that recipe are from Smitten Kitchen.

The dressing is a simple blend of buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, a touch of mayo, shallots, sugar, salt and pepper but the flavor is anything but. This is my new go-to creamy dressing. I am sure it would equally delicious with some crumbled blue cheese mixed in, if you’re into that kind of thing.

The dressing would be really great on an iceberg wedge or romaine hearts salad, or any kind of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mega mixed bowl. Like your lunch tomorrow.

(2021) Salade Lyonnaise

I have two new ideas for you this week. The first is for that bunch of mustard greens with this recipe for Salade Lyonnaise from Mark Bittman via the New York Times. It’s a simple salad that uses bitter greens – usually frisee or escarole – but I’m substituting those mustard greens. The warm dressing tenderizes the greens and the poached eggs are a perfect complement.

(2021) Freekeh Salad with Roasted Kale & Cabbage (or chard!)

here’s an idea from Alexandracooks.com (one of my favorite recipe sources) for using both cabbage and kale (or chard). She adapted it from “Food 52 Vegan” by Gena Hamshaw. Almost seems like a waste to chop that pretty Savoy cabbage into pieces but … I was in South Carolina for the weekend and picked up “The Twenty Bag” for Harleston Towles. So now I have a South Carolina cabbage to go with my Georgia cabbage. The only thing they seem to be ahead of us with was their sweet onions. There were two huge onions in that bag. Can’t wait until the Riverview onions start arriving.

I love grains and greens with sweet dried fruit like raisins (or dates or even dried cranberries). Hope you’ll enjoy this, too.

Her notes about the recipe: So many vegetables could work here: cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, parsnips, carrots, squash, etc. If you are using kale and cabbage, slice the leaves relatively finely or at least try to make the vegetables you are roasting together be uniform in size so that they cook evenly. Freekeh is not something I’ve cooked with many times, but I happened to have a bag of it on hand, and I think I’ll be buying it more often. It cooks quickly and has a nice, chewy texture — it reminds me of bulgur. Freekeh is harvested when it’s young or “green” then roasted, which gives it a slightly smoky, nutty flavor. Use any grain in place of the freekeh: farro, wheat berry, quinoa, bulgur, etc. I’ve used both currants and golden raisins, but chopped dates would be nice, too — anything to add a touch of sweetness. Nuts would be a nice addition here.

(2021) Braising Greens Pancakes

I am also excited to see collards this week. If you don’t use your beet greens in the crispy beets recipe, how about adding them to the collards and making these Braised Greens Pancakes from Aluma Farm. Do you know Aluma Farm on the Westside Beltline? They put out a weekly e-blast with information about what’s available at their farmstand and occasionally provide recipes, like this one they adapted from Smitten Kitchen. It’s a valuable recipe because you can use any greens you have on hand. They cook the pancakes in a bit of oil. That’s delicious, but not necessary. I’ve made these on the griddle with just a brushing of oil or nonstick cooking spray to keep the pancakes from sticking. Served with a lemon-yogurt mixture, the result is a bit like spanakopita but without the fiddly rolling of things in phyllo. Definitely a win.

(2018) Autumn Vegetable Potage

I’ve shared this recipe before but it’s worth repeating. Save it for when next week’s box when there will surely be a bundle of greens of some sort.

Demonstrated by Virginia Willis at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. As she says, feel free to substitute with what’s in season and in your box. And she recommends the two pots specified here to keep the greens crisp..

(2018) Warm Collard Green Dip 

Chef Michele Tompkins, “executive foodie” and managing partner of Urban Foodie Feed Store: Kitchen & Bar in College Park sends us this recipe that updates your favorite spinach dip with extra-healthy collard greens and a nice chive topping. No more frozen spinach and packaged onion soup mix. 

Tomkins says she likes to serve this with crisp tortilla chips, although you can use warm tortillas if you prefer. And if you like your food on the spicy side, add a bit of your favorite hot sauce.

For the wine, she suggests a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. 

(2017) Susan Rebecca White’s Poached Egg with Greens and Cornbread Croutons

heirloom cornmeal and grits

Just in case you needed an inspiration for your eggs and greens. You’ll have to have some cornbread made from Riverview Farms to do this up right.

It was originally published by Susan Puckett in Atlanta magazine. Here’s what Puckett had to say:

“Hints of Susan Rebecca White’s Georgia upbringing appear on her table as regularly as they do in her books—but rarely in the form of a Southern-fried cliche. Take her riff on a childhood favorite. “When I was little, my mom would make fried toast with a hole cut out in the middle and an egg cooked inside it,” says the Atlanta native. “We called them ‘cowboy hats’; some name it ‘toad in the hole.’”

“Later, living alone in New York, she began preparing a healthy variation of the dish she discovered in Judith Jones’s cookbook The Pleasures of Cooking for One. She’d saute spinach, form the greens into a nest, and slide an egg into the center to poach. Now living back in her home state, White fuses the two versions with a Southern inflection. She uses whatever local greens look freshest at the farmers market. And for croutons, she cuts leftover cornbread into rounds and fries them in butter and olive oil. This recipe makes one serving, though it is easily doubled.”