Preserve Greens ?

[Stvrob]

Originally Posted by Starlight

A friend uses her washing machine to clean the sand off her mustard greens. Tripped my mind when she told and showed me. I was like the washing machine? Ugg It works and nobody who has ever eaten her greens has gotten sick. Don't know how it would work in the new machines, but does great in the older top loading machines.

Ive thought of doing that but my wife intercepted me and put an end to it. I guess you would use the gentle cycle?

[AlittleSalt]

Tomorrow is the day. I think I'll leave the washing machine part out though

Next week when the sun returns - I have little doubt that they will quickly go to seed, so tomorrow I'll be processing them.

[Worth1]

The whole washing machine idea sounds creepy.
Worth

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Stvrob

Ive thought of doing that but my wife intercepted me and put an end to it. I guess you would use the gentle cycle?

I have a very low flow LG machine. Probably wouldn't work so well since it trickles out water in little,tiny squirts. I have no idea how it washes the clothes but it does a good job snd I got a great price on Craigslist. Besides,it's a very pretty cherry red.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

We bought it Worth. Presto 23-Qt. Pressure Canner and Cooker.

I can't wait to see my 5' tall wife using it. That's going to be a sight

I practiced canning with dry beans and chicken broth. Dry beans are a challenge to get right, will teach you how to gently change the temperature so that they don't siphon out of the jars.
It's really nice to have a pantry full of canned beans and low sodium homemade broth. You'll love your canner!

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Stvrob

I would just blanche and freeze them and be done with it. The fermenting idea does seem interesting but I dont have any experience with that, though I'd like to learn one day.

Very easy and makes a great kimchee.
I also love saurkraut and homemade dill pickles made from Armenian cucumbers. Eggplants are really good this way, and any green. Garlic chives turned out yummy as kimchi.
My husband ferments pepper puree for an amazing salsa base or hot sauce.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Stvrob

Clean a 5 gal bucket squeeky clean with a bleach solution and use it as an outdoor sink to prep your greens. I usually soak them, rinse, and repeat, then rinse them again with the hose on the mist setting and placing them in a large collander (ie a clean milk crate) before bringing them into the house. I clamp the hose to a pole next to my work area so I can use both hands to clean. This time of year there are lots of bugs to rinse off.

I'll give this a try. And, use lots of leaves this fall/winter. I have tons of them.

[b54red]

Saltmarsh gave you the best idea for preserving greens. Just cook them seasoned the way you like and freeze them. We have been doing it that way for 25 years or more and they are really good that way. Not quite as good as fresh but what is.

Bill

[AlittleSalt]

Bill, I agree. I'm going to do as Salt recommended about the salt water.

I'm going to follow these steps:

Rinse outside
Put in a sink of water
Rinse again in the other sink
Cut to bite size
Toss into boiling salt water for 2 minutes
Remove and place greens in an ice bath
Dry them
Place in Ziploc bags and use a straw to get out as much air as I can
Freeze

[saltmarsh]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Bill, I agree. I'm going to do as Salt recommended about the salt water.

I'm going to follow these steps:

Rinse outside
Put in a sink of water
Rinse again in the other sink
Cut to bite size
Toss into boiling salt water for 2 minutes
Remove and place greens in an ice bath
Dry them
Place in Ziploc bags and use a straw to get out as much air as I can
Freeze

If you freeze them without liquid you'll have a problem with freezer burn. Freezing them in the liquor prevents that problem. Claud

[AlittleSalt]

Thank you Salt, I'll be starting the process in about an hour. I had to clean up after our grandchildren visit Wednesday and Thursday. They are 2 and 5 years old, so lots of cleaning.

[AlittleSalt]

Three hours of picking, rinsing...washing...rinsing, cutting, cooking, ice bath... 7 quart bags of greens.

I learned new respect for all of you who preserve food. Same thing tomorrow. I only got half of them today.

Then there are two 40' rows of turnips to think about. I guess I'll cook some turnip greens up to remember what they taste like. And then figure out what to do.

I'm going to have nightmares of organic err stuff stuck on greens after 5 weeks of heavy rainfall.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Three hours of picking, rinsing...washing...rinsing, cutting, cooking, ice bath... 7 quart bags of greens.

I learned new respect for all of you who preserve food. Same thing tomorrow. I only got half of them today.

Then there are two 40' rows of turnips to think about. I guess I'll cook some turnip greens up to remember what they taste like. And then figure out what to do.

I'm going to have nightmares of organic err stuff stuck on greens after 5 weeks of heavy rainfall.

Fantastic Salt, this winter it will make you proud of your hard work and a sense of accomplishment.
Plant rotabeggers this fall.
Worth

[saltmarsh]

Worth is right about planting the rutabagas, but most people are missing out.

The rutabaga greens have a better flavor than turnip greens especially when they are young and tender. The greens won't keep like the waxed root so most people aren't familar with them.

When I plant rutabagas I sow about 4 times as many seed as needed. When they get about 4" tall, I pull half for greens leaving the biggest in place for roots and spaced properly. Then when they are about 8" tall I pull half again for greens leaving the biggest for roots and about 6" apart.

Slice the roots like steak fries spray with nonstick coating sprinkle on some seasoned salt and bake in the oven like you would potatoes. Good eats.
Claud

[AlittleSalt]

I'm not sure if I've ever seen seeds for rutabaga. It's something I have heard about but was never curious enough to research... until now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga

I need to supplement my diet with more leafy vegetables. I know it would help my wife as well. I guess the next step is to find out if seeds for Rotabagge are available locally or if I need to order them online? I just wrote it on the white board. That's where I make my lists to buy stuff.

We are going to plant spinach this fall. What I've been reading for years now - is that greens taste better when grown in fall. Some can take a little frost and taste even better. I need to make the soil cool enough for them to grow. Maybe starting seeds and then transplanting would be better? I found with Collards that the ones I direct sowed are half the size of the ones I transplanted. A lot to think about.