It's not easy being greens

But thankfully, it's really easy to cook them.

This is the first installment in what I hope will be a source of useful information about all that stuff you find at the farmers' market and what to do with it.  I love organic, locally-grown food and I love to cook. And I want you to try more of it yourself, because that's going to support our local farmers and improve your quality of life.  You may not be able to do this kind of thing every day, but even if you replace one processed, frozen or fast-food meal - maybe on a day off - with something that's come from a farm that morning and is on your table the same day, you'll be making an important difference.

And hopefully, this will become a great community where you'll share your ideas, too!

Today I went to the Salinas farmers' market and bought some pea greens (the young greens of a pea plant - they have a mild pea flavor), baby zucchini, amaranth leaves, baby artichokes, spring garlic and scallions (green onions that are feeling fancy).  For this entry, I have some tips on cooking the pea greens and using the zucchini.

Pea Greens

The first thing you have to do is taste the pea greens.  They're mild, right?  You can use them raw in a salad, with other baby greens like arugula or spinach, and toss with a little olive oil and lemon or red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  To use raw, pick them off the stems.  If you're going to cook them, just chop off the biggest stems - the smaller ones cook down and are very tender.  They "cook down" a LOT - that means they look like there's a lot of greens, but when they're cooked, they become smaller.  I bought a big bunch for $1.50, and I think it's about enough for 3 people when cooked.  Raw, I can barely get my hand around the bunch.

You need a pan (non-stick, if you're cutting down on fat), 1-2 T. of olive oil, a little chopped garlic or onion, if you enjoy that, and a stove.  Make sure all your ingredients are ready to go, because this goes fast!  You could also use butter or a small amount (less than 1 T.) of bacon fat, but I think they would overwhelm the delicate flavor of the greens.  Put the olive oil in the pan and heat it until it ripples a little.   If you're using the chopped onion, put it in first and let it become transluscent - about 2-3 minutes.  If you add 1-2 teaspoons of chopped garlic, don't let it brown - it will be bitter.  Toss it in and as soon as you smell it, add the pea greens - about one big handful per person. In about 30 seconds the greens will wilt - take out and serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Baby zucchini

Zucchini is one of those "chameleon" vegetables - it can blend into almost anything.  You can grate it and make little pancakes, you can shred it into cole slaw, you can chop it and toss it in a sauce or an omelette . . . and it adds a little nice greenness, sweetness and crunch.  The smaller the zucchini, the better the flavor - in my opinion. Wash them first - they can be sandy. For a really special appetizer with minimal effort, make zucchini noodles:  Using your vegetable peeler, create thin ribbons of zucchini, 2 baby zucchini per person.  This is the hardest part of the dish.  If you have a mandoline, that makes this part a lot quicker - but please, use the hand guard!  Lightly salt the "noodles" (1/2 - 1 t. per serving) and set them in a colander to drain.  Go have a glass of wine and read for a half hour or so.

Rinse and drain the noodles - if you have a salad spinner, this is really easy.  In fact, if you're going to spend some time with me at the market, a salad spinner's a good investment.  Put 1-2 T. of olive oil in a pan (use the smaller amount with a non-stick pan) and toss in 1/2 T. of chopped garlic (or if you're me, a whole Tablespoon per serving).  As soon as you smell the garlic, add the "noodles."  They'll turn this lovely bright color along the edges.  As soon as you start to see some light brown spots (3-4 minutes), take them out of the pan.  Drain on paper towels to remove any excess oil.  You can toss with any number of things - chopped toasted walnuts, chopped kalamata olives, a little roasted red pepper, parmesan cheese, chopped sundried tomatoes from a jar (drain them a little first). . .serve warm.  Again, a squeeze of lemon juice never hurt.

See you next time I visit the market!