Back in the day, I had gazillion minutes on my hands. I had plenty of time to drive to Vineland, NJ, where a plethora of farms were located and I picked fresh kale, cabbage, and collard greens.  Local farmers welcomed pickers with open arms.

I took pride in the fact that my veggies were locally grown and that I picked them. How cool was that?  It was fun soaking and washing the crusty dirt from each leaf.  Then rolling the leaves pridefully, cutting them into tiny pieces only to build a mountain inside an oversized pot that cooked down to half the size.  Hehe! Oh boy!!  Those were the days.

Today my relationship with my veggies tell a different story. While my lifestyle today is healthier than before, and I continue to eat fresh (sometimes locally grown), the truth is:

Even if I had the time to pick fresh kale, collards, cabbage, or other produce from a farm, those beautiful leaves would sit in my fridge and slowly wilt and rot.  

Rather than make myself crazy with the process, my kale and collards enter my shopping cart looking like this.

The greens are already cut, tho not as small as I like but size doesn’t affect the flavor, so it’s really not that serious.  I buy these 16 oz. bags fom BJ’s and it works for me.  The greens are clean, but I soak and wash them again anyway.

One day when it’s just hubby and I, I can do the garden thing, but I know my current imitations.

I typically cook two pounds at a time.  To ensure they are thoroughly seasoned, I cook them in a large pot and carefully season each layer. Sometimes I combine one bag of kale and one bag of collard greens.

1. Add two handfuls of greens.
2. Chop and add half of a sweet onion.
3. Add spices: granulated garlic powder, black pepper,  crushed red peppers, and Lawry’s Season Salt (Only if you must have salt, I prefer without)
4. Olive oil.
5. Repeat until all of the greens are in the pot.
6.  Depending on the size, I use two-three onions.

Sorry, I don’t know how much; I measure by sight. I thoroughly cover with seasoning. Too much garlic or pepper can never be a bad thing–right?  Lol!

Stir them well and cook them slowly.  I like my greens with a light crunch to them, so I cook them until they are bright in color.  As soon as the greens are cooked to my liking, I remove them from the heat and transfer them to a pan to cook.  Don’t cover until them until they have completely cooled off.

If you do food prep like I do, this is an easy way to get your greens in for the week.

To add variety to my food prep for the week, I also cooked two pounds of brussels sprouts.

Soak the brussels, cut the ends off, slice in half. Toss them in a baking pan. Add olive oil, the same seasoning used for the kale and add about a half cup of water. Cover with foil. Bake in the oven at 350 Degrees for about 40 minutes (depending on how firm you like them). When the brussels are cooked and you remove them from the oven, don’t forget to keep remove the foil or they will continue to cook.

Neither the kale or the brussels are freshly gardened picked, but as I already said, no longer do I make myself crazy trying to incorporate a task that is unrealistic and will put me into a frenzy.

With so much going on in my life, simplicity is the goal.

I know it’s been some time since I’ve written regular posts, but I am back!!!  🙂

Thanks for stopping by.