Queen of Collards

I feel like I've Discovered Greens this fall.  We've been eating out of our garden for eight years now, but I don't think I've ever fully appreciated the potential for cooked greens.  They are so scrumptious and satisfying.  And so wonderfully cold-hardy.  When nothing else is left, there's always kale.

We are having an elongated autumn this year - it has been lovely. (And unusual.) (I've realized that I wish it was like this every year.)  There hasn't been a hard freeze yet, so the cruciferous vegetables are still going strong: collards, three kinds of kale, red and green cabbages, broccoli, and parsley too.  We would have probably had celery too, if I hadn't harvested it all in preparation for a cold snap.

I feel like I just can't get enough of kale and collards. How have I not flipped for them before?

Here's my favorite dish thus far.

Sauteed Greens and Squash

1 large onion, sliced
A couple of dollops of fat (goose, chicken, lard, tallow, etc.)
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
Half of a cooked, dry squash
A giant basket (or stack) of kale or collards
1 cup stock or dry, white wine
Salt & pepper to taste

:: Slice the onion and start sauteing in the fat of your choice in a cast-iron dutch oven
:: Don't bother de-stemming your greens - just chop and add the stem part first
:: Roll the greens cigar-fashion and cut into swaths, then chop the sections into smaller pieces
:: Add greens, mixing to stir with the onion
:: Add the stock or wine, then cover to allow the greens to steam
:: Meanwhile, chop the cooked squash and add it to the pot
:: Lastly, smash and mince the garlic and add it to the pot
:: Stir periodically and let simmer for 10-15 minutes

It is also very good with a grating of nutmeg added in.

Quick peek

Our Little Guys: Eliah and Jamie 

They were watching the heating guy check out the furnace.

I love their sweet faces and Jamie peeking out from behind Mama's apron.

The furnace had stopped working from the chicken bones

Diego had inserted into the venting system "two years ago".

Good grief.  Thankfully, everything panned out just fine.

Truen turned eight the week before last.

He had a whole day of special meals, snacks, and desserts planned out --

He was very excited about his special day.

His favorite present from Da? Snap Circuits. Obsessed.

And finally, Diego's recently-invented pose for pictures --

This is what most snaps look like these days.

 In this case, he was dressed up to play "the old man" 

in a musical production of an old Chinese folktale

with our homeschool co-op: Tikki Tikki Tembo