What is so beautiful about summer apart from the weather? Everything is green around us!

So why not eat green too?
When I say leafy green, do you say salad? When you say salad, do you mean salad as in iceberg? Then we need to talk. It is summer and the prime season for green leafy food.
If you go to the store, a farmers market, or if you are taking part in a farm share this summer you will notice that most of what is available right now is leafy and green. There is so much to chose from and some of the names are more difficult to pronounce that others. Don’t be scared to try something new and foreign. As long as it is leafy and green you can eat it in a salad. Some leaves need a little cooking, some are great just naturally as they come -just washed.

Green is green is ….not always just green.

Greens actually come in a variety of green nuances. Some are yellow-white, some red or purple. Often you will find that the darker the leafy greens and the more texture they have, the more bitter they are. These often need a little cooking such as blanching, sautéing, stir-frying, used in soups, or just toss them in with the hot food to wilt them. Depending on how dense the leaf is, it needs more or less cooking.

When you try the different leaves you can find quite an exciting mixture of tastes as well. Leafy greens vary from mild to spicy, bitter to peppery. Others are sweet or buttery in taste. Textures vary such as curly, flat, crispy, or soft. They all create quite an interesting and tasty mixture in a summer salad.

Green and Nourishing Facts:

Greens are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of vitamin C. The darker the leaves, the more vitamin A. Many greens, such as spinach, kale, and collards are known for their mineral content, especially iron, calcium, magnesium, as well as folate, riboflavin (B2) and vitamin K. Leafy greens are very rich in antioxidants; the carotenoids and beta-carotene, and the tocopherols (vitamin E).

Being Green.

Baby greens are called so because they are harvested young, this is not the same sad story as calf or lamb though. The plant will keep growing and produce even more leaves, either more baby greens or become the full-grown version. An example is baby arugula versus the full-grown leaf of arugula. The taste is different but the origin is the same. When several different baby greens are mixed together it becomes a mesclun salad, which is the French word for “mixed” (how smart they are). The leaves you most often find in there are lettuce, arugula, spinach, endive, and radicchio.  To be more adventurous you can add some of the greens that you might recognize as weeds, namely dandelion, which is a very powerful (and bitter) green leaf. The Mesclun salad leaves all require no cooking, some do prefer the dandelion cooked though).

Also - Add some Edible flowers for color, and yes - they can be eaten, hence their name.

Other members of the green world come from the cabbage family. Here you find greens that are mostly eaten cooked; collards, kale, turnip, and mustard greens. Other greens include beet greens, turnip greens, and again as a cooked green; the dandelions. When you eat cabbage raw it detoxifies the stomach and upper colon, which improves digestion. Do chew well though and get used to it little by little or you may end up with less of a social life. :-)

Green food, leafy greens, salad, or mesclun, whatever you call it, just go for it. They are good for you, there are plenty to choose from, and they taste good!

How to Pick your Greens:

• Arugula: Is a has a peppery taste. It is sometimes listed as an herb because it is quite strong in taste. It is great both raw and slightly wilted in a hot dish.
• Belgian Endive: It has a dense, elongated egg shape, about five inches long, with whitish yellow crunchy leaves and a bitter taste. It is often mixed raw with milder greens, but is also very nice cooked. Last issue I suggested putting it on the barbecue, which is also quite delicious.
• Bok Choy: It comes both in a small baby version and as large crunchy leaves. When large, its stem is white or pale green with slightly wavy light green leaves. The baby version is looking more like a leaf version of an endive. It is great for sautéing or stir-fry with other vegetables. It is one of the oldest greens and has been cultivated for at least 1500 years. It is often used in Chinese cooking and sometimes called by its other name Pak Choi.
• Boston or Bibb: Is a delicious head lettuce with a soft buttery texture. The leaves are loose, succulent, and almost oily. It is green or brown-red on the outside, creamy white on the inside.
• Collards: They have large flat dark green leaves, looking more like a fan. Along with kale, they are among the most nutritious of the greens and are great cooked.
• Curly Endive: It is sometimes called chicory. It is sharply flavored, crisp, and curly with dark green leaves outside and lighter green leaves inside, which are more tender. It is a good cooking green.
• Kale and Collards are basically cabbages without heads and their flavor is milder. Kale is usually flat with frilled edges or very curly like oversized parsley. You can also find Dinosaur Kale, which is a narrower and longer leaf. It is very dark and dense in texture which makes it delicious when stir-fried or sautéed. Blanching is always an option for the dark leafy greens.
• Head Lettuce is reddish or green and is what you mostly see as “a salad”.  In stores it is sold either as a head or as loose leaves in a mesclun mix. The leaves can be waxy with curly edges, or flat looking more like an tree leaf, or even frilly.
• Maché is a wonderful light small leafed green with a buttery taste. It is wonderful as a “topping” to fish or a vegetable dish, but it almost "disappears" if mixed with other greens.
• Mizuna is mustard green of Japanese origin. It has a white thin stalk and a fringed, deeply cut leaf. Its mild flavor is perfect for salads. If cooked it needs very little, basically just mixing it with something hot is enough.
• Radicchio is a ruby red little head with white veins. It has a bitter taste and is a great colorful mixer with other milder greens, but it also holds up it flavor very well when sautéed.
• Romaine is the lettuce used in Caesar salads and has supposedly gotten its name from the Romans. This head-lettuce is loose and upright and has thick, elongated leaves with heavy stiff midrib.
• Spinach is the first leafy green I learned about as a kid because of Popeye. It comes both as a baby spinach, which it good raw in salads, and as longer leaves which lend themselves great for cooking. It is mild-flavored but does belong in the bitter green family.
• Sprouts are not a leafy green, but need to be mentioned because of being a great add on to any salad. Both because of its crunch and its nutritional value.
• Tatsoi is a small, dark, spoon-shaped green leaf with a mild but strong taste. It is great raw for salads and can also be lightly cooked.
• Watercress is a very nutritious little green with medium to dark green small leaves on stems and a peppery taste. It is great both raw and cooked.

When Selecting Greens:

Greens are usually sold either pre-mixed in plastic bags, loose in baskets, or they are bunched individually. The fun begins when you go beyond the pre-mix and experiment with the variety of greens. Find the right flavor and textures for your taste.
Look for greens that are not wilting or yellowing to ensure freshness. If they are bagged look to see if the bottom leaves look like the are “melting” which is a sign they have been in there for too long already. When buying a head lettuce, check the outer leaves are not yellowing and buy one than seems light for its size because it will store longer.

Best Way to Store Greens:

If you have a fridge with a humidity controlled drawer that is the best place for them. You can keep your greens in the plastic bag in the refrigerator until ready to use. Even if they say pre-washed do wash them before serving. After washing, dry them well to avoid a limp salad by patting them with paper towels. The best investment is a salad spinner. I actually like to wash my greens right when I bring them home, spin, and keep them in the spinner in the fridge. They seem to last a bit longer that way. I also have some charcoal in my fridge in an open bowl, which is said to keep veggies and greens fresh longer and omit some of the odors in the fridge. I would not be able to tell you if it actually works.

Best Way to Eat Greens:

Instead of having a store bought salad dressing, which is often mixed with sugar, choose a good quality cold pressed virgin olive oil.

If you prefer a dressing out of the bottle already mixed; looked for one that does not contain sugar, but instead is sweetened with either agave, brown rice- or maple syrup, honey, or other non-processed sugar or artificial sweetener.

And- You DO want oil on your salad. Not just for the taste. Your body needs to even absorb the nutritional value from your green food. Adding fat helps you feel full and gives you energy as well. I am however talking about plant derived fat – from olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocado. All great add-ons to your salad or cooked greens.

Enjoy having a Leafy Green Summer.

Yours Green, Jeanette