Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • On Being a Writer
      • Media Kit
  • Speaking
    • Book Ann as a Guest on Your Show
  • Podcast
  • Courses
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Work With Me

June 24, 2010 35 Comments

Food on Fridays: Please Eat Greens

fof

(smaller button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe. If you just want to promote your local CSA, that’ll do just fine.When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.Please note: I’ll do my best to update this post by hand. In the meantime, please click on the Mister Linky logo to view the complete list.

Food on Fridays Participants

1. Pasta YaYa2. Food Junkie from Texas- Smoky Kale with Onions3. Melodie (Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad) W/VEGETARIAN LINKY4. Bumbles & Light: Spicy Sweet Potato Fries5. Grilled Sausages with Baby Turnips and Turnip Greens6. Alex@A Moderate Life- Greek Keftedes 7. Great Soil, Great Food8. April@ The 21st Century Housewife (Arabian Nights Cake)9. Cooking for Two (or more) @ Wide Open Spaces10. Aubree Cherie @ Living Free (Tropical Vegan Nut Burgers)11. Buttermilk Biscuits12. Newlyweds (Lemon Buttermilk Pudding Cake) 13. Creamy Salsa Chicken and Pasta14. Kristen (grilled steak kabobs)15. Sara (banana sherbet)16. Simple Country Girl (recipes for greens)17. Alison @ Under the Big Oak Tree (BBQ Chicken Salad giveaway) 18. Rachel Olsen – giveaway alert! 19. Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect (my husband’s ronza, aka calzone)20. Kara (Reese’s PB Chocolate Cake)21. Apple Crisp from Jacob’s Kitchen22. Kim (Peaunt Butter and Jelly Smoothie)23. Odd Mom (Super Easy and Tasty Salsa)24. frugalcrunchychristy -Farmers Markets 25. annies home

Food on Fridays with Ann

I met with an organic farmer and his sister. We chatted about a wide range of topics, including his CSA deliveries. I asked the farmer what would come in my box this week if I started ordering, and he listed, among other things, greens. I can’t remember if it was kale or collard greens, but I stopped him and said, “Greens? I’m just not used to eating greens.”

“What? You have got to get greens in your diet. Please, please start eating greens! There are things in greens you can’t find in anything else–things that our bodies need that help us process other food, even junkier food, so if you eat your greens, you can get by with eating Twinkies.”

I got a little defensive. “Well, we sure don’t eat Twinkies.”

“Regardless,” he urged me, “you’ve got to eat greens. Besides, they’re delicious!”

His impassioned plea inspired me to buy kale the next day:

Being a Northerner, I don’t regularly prepare greens, so I had to look online for ideas.

I found a discussion thread about cooking kale leaves and followed the instructions from the first post:

Take fresh kale and chop it up. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle black pepper into the hot oil, then add garlic (preferably fresh chopped). Let it brown but not burn. Toss your dark green yummies into the hot oil until they’re slightly soft (but not disintegrated) Add salt, pine nuts & Parmesan cheese while cooking but only until very slightly melted/browned.

Love it, even without the Parmesan cheese.

And it may just be psychological, but I think I do feel a little healthier.

So I join the organic farmer in his plea: Please eat greens!

fof

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s book.

Filed Under: Food, Food on Fridays Tagged With: kale, kale recipe, stir-fry kale

Comments

  1. Nancy's Daily Dish says

    June 24, 2010 at 11:28 pm

    I’ve never tried Kale but I must say it sounds delicious, and looks the same. I have prepared spinach very similarly so we’ll be trying this!

    Thank you for sharing your recipe!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 25, 2010 at 8:25 am

      My husband and I think Kale is more flavorful and almost, I don’t know, maybe “sweeter.” Even the texture is nicer than spinach (though I do like spinach).

      Reply
  2. Melodie says

    June 24, 2010 at 11:40 pm

    I absolutely love kale. It is my favorite veggie by far. I’ve seen some neat recipes for kale chips that you might like to try. Just added to a stir fry or soup they’re awesome as well. Or replace spinach with kale and see that you think. Enjoy!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 25, 2010 at 8:27 am

      Your favorite veggie by far?? Wow…

      Say, I did see a recipe for kale chips when I was doing my search and that intrigued me. Thanks for the suggestion–also the idea of tossing it into stir fry and soup sounds like an easy way to add health.

      Several people were suggesting tossing it into smoothies, but the organic farmer said it could get stringy and the kids might balk at it.

      And somewhere else someone suggested mashing it with pine nuts to make pesto. That sounded like a yummy idea.

      Reply
  3. Daphne says

    June 25, 2010 at 12:13 am

    I cooked kale for the first time several months ago. I liked it but my husband and son asked for seconds. They really liked it and I was shocked! I linked my post so go check it out!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 25, 2010 at 8:28 am

      What a lovely surprise–to have the family ask for seconds on something that’s one of the “world’s healthiest foods,” according to at least one website. I’ll check out your post today!

      Reply
  4. Satakieli says

    June 25, 2010 at 12:28 am

    I don’t think I’ve ever eaten Kale or “Greens”. Perhaps they’re not something we had in England when I was growing up? I should try them, I wonder if they have them in Germany?

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 25, 2010 at 8:30 am

      Surely there’s some kind of green you can eat in Germany?

      I typed “kale” into Yahoo’s babelfish, and it translated to “kohl” in German. Collard greens were “Kohlgrüns.” Mustard greens: “Senfgrüns.” Maybe an open market would have some nice fresh stuff you could buy?

      Reply
      • Satakieli says

        June 25, 2010 at 2:37 pm

        I’ll keep an eye out next time I head to the farmers market… I know for sure I haven’t seen them in our local grocery store!

        I mean, we have salad stuff and spinach… but yeah just not sure about the ones you mentioned.

        Reply
  5. Wendy (The Local Cook) says

    June 25, 2010 at 12:37 am

    I love greens too! I never ate them growing up but when I started joining CSAs about five years ago I discovered them.

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 25, 2010 at 8:31 am

      Well, I’m so impressed with all of you green-eaters!!

      Reply
  6. Alex@amoderatelife says

    June 25, 2010 at 12:42 am

    Annie, I am laughing because I adore greens now, but never did when younger! IN fact, my last weeks Tackling Bittman recipe was Kale with Tahini and it was so good my husband gobbled it up along with these Greek Meatballs which I am putting on the linky that I made healthier by using grass fed meat and eggs. Thanks for sharing the foodie love and your wonderful space with us on this friday! Hugs! Alex

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 25, 2010 at 8:32 am

      I saw a recipe for Kale with Tahini in my search and paused, because I do have some tahini in the fridge for making hummus. Your report of your husband’s gobbling it up makes me want to revisit that!

      Reply
  7. April Harris says

    June 25, 2010 at 4:11 am

    I’m ashamed to say how many times I’ve left the Kale from my organic vegetable box until it was too wilty to cook so I could avoid eating it…but I won’t anymore. You’ve made it look delicious – and if it is that good for me I really can’t afford to avoid it!!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 25, 2010 at 8:33 am

      April, be sure to read the suggestions in some of the comments above–the kale chips sound like a fun way to try them the first time. And I have to say, my simple instructions were so fast and easy and tasty, I really do recommend it. I happened to have pine nuts on hand, but I think you could use almonds or other nuts for a slightly different effect.

      Reply
  8. A Simple Country Girl says

    June 25, 2010 at 8:38 am

    Miss Ann,

    May I introduce you to my dark side? My dark green kale, collard, spinach, lambs-quarters (it’s an edible weed)-lovin’ side that is!

    Here is a link to my food (actually it is my healthy-eating, healthy-living blog …the one I have neglected ever since we moved last autumn).

    Please take a gander at what I do with kale (and all of his cousins) each and every single day:

    http://simplerawhealth.blogspot.com/search/label/green%20smoothies

    And here are some recipes too:http://simplerawhealth.blogspot.com/search/label/green%20smoothie%20recipe

    Blessings.

    A Simple Country Girl

    aka A Simple Raw Food Mamma

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 25, 2010 at 8:48 am

      Tempting me to the dark side, eh? You may change the way we eat up north!

      Reply
      • A Simple Country Girl says

        June 25, 2010 at 8:55 am

        Just where do you think I live? 😉

        hint, hint…right near where those lovely Walla Walla Sweet onions are grown

        Reply
      • annkroeker says

        June 25, 2010 at 9:21 am

        Really? I think of greens as such a southern thing….I guess interest in them and their health benefits is spreading in all directions!

        Reply
  9. A Simple Country Girl says

    June 25, 2010 at 8:40 am

    recipes too: (put in the space right here so the link works right!) http://simplerawhealth.blogspot.com/search/label/green%20smoothie%20recipe

    Reply
  10. Rachel Olsen says

    June 25, 2010 at 9:23 am

    You’ve inspired me to try kale! Thanks for the coking tips on it.

    Reply
  11. jacobskitchen says

    June 25, 2010 at 11:11 am

    I just got a big bunch of kale in my weekly CSA box. Now I know how i will use it. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  12. Charity Singleton says

    June 25, 2010 at 11:28 am

    I just picked up my weekly CSA box which contained no less than five different greens: chard, kale, escarole, endive, and sorrel. Plus some cabbage! It’s going to be nothing but green for the next week on my dinner table! Good thing I am *starting* to like greens!

    Reply
  13. Alison says

    June 25, 2010 at 2:10 pm

    I’ve never prepared greens. I’ve never eaten them either. I’ll have to try kale sometime soon.

    Thanks for sharing your experience! I’d get defensive too if someone implied that I ate Twinkies! 😉 I’m a junk food junkie, but I draw the line at Twinkies! (Not really, but they’re not high on my list of favorites!)

    Reply
  14. Quinn says

    June 25, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    As a fellow Northerner, I’ve never tried either. But upon your recommendation I shall. I was thinking the lettuce would be awfully lonely in the cold frames this fall anyway!

    Reply
  15. laura says

    June 25, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    I love me a good mess of greens. These look yummy, Ann.

    Reply
  16. Cassandra Frear says

    June 26, 2010 at 3:54 am

    I love kale. I could eat it by the plateful.

    My recipe? Braised in a small amount of water with garlic and sunflower seeds. Touch of salt on top. I just keep turning the kale. I don’t mind if the edges burn slightly at the end.

    Reply
  17. Lynn Hopper says

    June 26, 2010 at 8:32 am

    Does anyone remember that early spring dandelion green are tasty? Of course, you have to be careful where you pick them…

    And as for Twinkies. Hostess has messed around with the recipe. When I was little–we are talking more than 60 years ago–I loved Twinkies, would practically inhale them. They were soft and squishy. Nothing like those mini-baseball bats they sell as Twinkies today. I can’t stand those…which is probably a good thing!!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      June 26, 2010 at 11:52 am

      Spring dandelion greens–those are probably fattening up the goats! My friend LL has a whole thing about dandelion greens in her archives. I need to look up her ideas, instructions and recipes. Thanks for the reminder! As for Twinkies…bleh. Too bad we never had the originals, like you gobbled up.

      Reply
  18. annkroeker says

    June 26, 2010 at 11:51 am

    A bunch of great ideas here, green-lovin’ friends and family! Thanks for your comments!

    I just came back from the farmer’s market with some chard. Also some “live lettuce” that had been grown using hydroponic techniques. So the head of lettuce is actually still alive and growing while sitting in my fridge or on the counter, as long as the roots are kept moist. It can stay in my fridge three or four weeks! I think I’ll write about it for my next Food on Fridays. I was fascinated.

    Reply
  19. Jaime @ Like a Bubbling Brook says

    June 27, 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Sometimes I’ll add chopped kale to a lentil dish, simmered in broth, or maybe I’ll add it to a soup in the autumn, but that’s about all. We do need to eat more greens! :o)

    Reply
  20. Becky Ramsey says

    June 27, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    Hey Ann,

    I married a collard lover years ago, and for 24 years the poor man has had to go visit his mama to get his collard fix. (Except for the years I let him cook his own in the garage. (You think I’m joking? Have you ever smelled collards cooking?)

    But now that recipe sounds and looks so good, that I’m going to try it for myself!

    Thank you for freeing me from my prejudice against greens!

    And thanks too for your thoughtful comment at my blog. I’m excited about getting to know you, my friend!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Vietnamese Noodle Salad | Breastfeeding Moms Unite says:
    June 24, 2010 at 11:35 pm

    […] up at Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Friday Foods at Momtrends, Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker, Wholesome Whole Foods at Health Food Lover, Food Revolution Friday at Notes From […]

    Reply
  2. Apple Crisp « Jacob's Kitchen says:
    June 25, 2010 at 11:16 am

    […] up with: Fight Back Fridays, Vegetarian Foodie Fridays, Foodie Fridays, Friday Feasts, Food on Fridays, Food Revolution Fridays ) Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Day FourteenApple Pie, […]

    Reply
  3. Food on Fridays: Fried Potatoes (with veggies) (even greens) | Ann Kroeker. Writer. says:
    October 28, 2010 at 10:34 pm

    […] I remember that my friend Mike, the organic farmer, pleaded with me to eat greens. “You have got to get greens in your diet,” he said. “Please, please start eating […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Providing you with resources and inspiration to be more curious, creative, and productive.

Ad - SiteGround Web Hosting - Crafted for easy site management. Amazing Speed; Powerful Tools; Top-rated support. Learn more.
Make Your Sentences Sing: 7 Sentence Openers to Add Music to Your Prose (Mini Course from Ann Kroeker.Teachable.com)
TWL-100-best-websites-2016-2-300x300

Archives

Categories

Ann Kroeker is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Not every link leads to compensation, but assume that each does.
© 2006-2022 Ann Kroeker All Rights Reserved

instagram twitter facebook pinterest

Landing page graphic and other design elements by Sophie Kroeker.

Privacy Policy · Copyright © 2023