Greens, Greens and yes, More Greens

This week I focused on catching up on my harvests and using greens - which took some time but it was fun making the large pots of soup and filling my freezer with easy meals for dark, cold winter nights.

As I have said many times, greens are interchangeable, so if a recipe calls for kale, but you have chard, that's fine. Add mizuna, endive, escarole to any soup or stew to boost the nutrition, and add color to the pot.

I really love receiving the chicories: endive, escarole, radicchio because they are equally happy in a salad or cooked.

I usually do a mix of greens for salads - in the fall and winter, a mix of endive, escarole, mizuna, leaf lettuce with your favorite vinaigrette is delicious - these heartier, slightly bitter greens are delicious with "add-ins" - they welcome the sweetness of thinly sliced local apples or pears, dried cranberries, pomegranate arils, and nuts such as almonds and pecans. A crumble of feta or blue cheese on these salads is also delicious - with a salad that is this large and loaded with flavor, I often just have this with a simply prepared piece of meat.

Enjoy your greens!