Hattie and the rest of us have really taken to greens this fall. A simple preparation has been working for whatever comes in from the garden - chard, mustard, kale, turnip, collards, tat soi, and mizuna. Wash and chop into about one inch pieces. In a cast iron frying pan, saute some chopped bacon or fat back until browned. Or just add some fat. Saute a chopped onion if you'd like. Then add the greens and stir until they are wilted. Add small amounts of broth or water as needed to keep them cooking until they reach the desired tenderness. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cider vinegar can be a nice addition as well.
It started so small this spring and then just kept growing and growing. Here it is after it's 2nd hair cut, ready for a third (picture taken about a month ago). We dried the cut leaves and have been using them for tea. Stevia and lemon grass has become a favorite. We got the small plant from a friend this spring and set it out after the last chance of frost. It was so vigorous it out competed all the bermuda grass around it, making a small bush in a short time. It is not winter hardy, so we divided the roots six ways and trimmed stems and potted up each new plant separately. We're overwintering them in various locations - a sunny window, a friend's greenhouse, and an outbuilding that doesn't freeze - to determine what is the most successful. We look forward to growing it in different places around the farm next year.
