Greens

I like greens. I do.

I didn't use to. As a child, spinach ruled. Canned spinach. Boiled until it was a grey-green pile of slimy, oozing slop. To this day, I am deeply suspicious of people who eat the stuff right out of the can, with obvious relish.

The slop was served with lemon juice, which was supposed to render it palatable. It failed dismally.

I was quite grown before I learned that there are other types of edible greens. I have since eaten turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, kale, and even nettles.

I also learned that spinach can be served in much more appetizing ways. Raw, for instance. Or barely steamed. Or flipped around in a pan with a bit of bacon drippings.

Most greens that have to be cooked longer require something to disguise the taste. Vinegar is good, as is hot sauce. A little bacon or other pork cooked with the tougher types helps a lot.

My favourite of the long-cooked greens is turnip, and I usually buy them frozen, with bits of turnip in them. Lord knows, it's the only way I'm going to eat turnips!

On my last trip to the store, I got a hankering for turnip greens, and grabbed a bag. Problem was, once I got them home, I noticed that I had bought collard greens by mistake. Last night, I set out to cook some. I was going to add bacon, but remembered just in time that my bacon was maple sugar flavoured (another mistake).

So, I added garlic, and tasted. I added onion, and tasted. I added salt, and tasted. I was not optimistic. By the time they had cooked for the required time, my hankering was diminishing rapidly. I had to add hot sauce, balsamic vinegar and a lot more salt.

But, I ate them.

Mom would be proud.