Sometimes nature’s bounty provides us with a surplus that doesn’t match our desire to eat or our schedule. I got this big bunch of fabulous greens just before we were going to leave town for a few days.
Hmmmm…what to do? I love greens (kale, chard, spinach, etc.), but there is only so much the two of us can eat in a day or two.
When this happens, I enjoy cooking for the freezer. It makes good use of the veggies and gives us a special treat later on when there might be no fresh greens available and we’re craving them.
To freeze greens, here are the steps:
- Wash the greens thoroughly.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and blanch the greens. Just put them in the boiling water, cover, and leave for no more than 3-4 minutes.
- Then strain the greens from the boiling water and plunge them into ice water. (Alternatively, run them under very cold water in a strainer until they are chilled.) This stops the cooking process.
- Squeeze any extra water from the greens. Then put in a freezer zip bag and squeeze out any extra air before putting in the freezer.
Here are some recipes to use these delicious greens.