The Great CSA Adventure: Collard Greens (Week 1)

Solidifying my yuppie status, I joined a CSA program for the winter.  Every week, I pick up locally-grown fruits and vegetables (and sometimes dairy items, honey, jam, and meat) from the market near my office.  My hope is that the CSA will inspire me to get out of my food comfort zone.  It will also give me an excuse to try ALL of the recipes featured in Plenty, which I received from a good friend as a Christmas gift. 

The first batch included pink lady apples (some of which I tossed with kale and dried cranberries), beets, onions, purple viking potatoes, watercress, and collard greens.

Growing up, collard greens were featured in every big, family meal.  Of course, I never ate them because, you know, green vegetables are pretty much kryptonite for kids. Now that I'm old enough to cook my own meals, I never think to buy collards and rarely look for recipes where they are the main ingredient.   (This also meant that I had no idea what to do with them when I pulled them out of my bag.)

So, I went for pesto, tossing the collards, garlic, pecans, parmesan, salt, and black pepper into my food processor and mixing with penne.   Easy and delicious. 

Next up: figuring out what I can do with watercress that doesn't involve it being in a sandwich (which apparently tastes like buttered grass).