Creasy Greens, love them! Can substitue for spinach.

Well after having healthy scrambled eggs this morning from our girls I had a pretty light food day, so I was starved at dinner. Poor planning on my part, I know! Breakfast sandwich was only 1 slice of whole wheat and only one egg scrambled. Normally I'd be at a two egg minimum, I mean seriously this is still American you know and I still have choices! LOL  For lunch from what I can remember I had roasted red bell pepper hummus/chips (not the healthy kind, my bad) and a cinnamon applesauce and sliced bananas. So I was starved by dinner. Anyway, I happened to pass a bag full of Creasy Greens at Cedar Lodge the other day and since they were the only bag left I couldn't resist. I've been eating Creasy greens since I was a really little girl. Shout out to Grandpa Hash for that one! But I think my mother's love of turnips is really what kicks creasy greens up a knotch for me! Here's how that party in a pan works out:

here's the bag of the lovlies..look at that vitamin rich GREEN

this is what the stem looks like which most are tender and you can eat them, but don't all the way down to the root (although you'll want to for sure)

a closer look at the green leaves

basically I fried up some bacon (just some as you can see) then peel your purple turnips and chop up...i pan fried the turnips in (some) the bacon drippings until tender with a pinch of kosher salt and cracked pepper

after I get all of the turnips cooked 'til tender I add the heaping (washed thoroughly) pile of creasy greens on top of the roasted turnips

toss it all together and put a lid on it to steam the greens down, but not too long I want the greens to still have the green/nutrition left in them

but right before that lid goes on, grab that bacon and crumbled it up and toss it back in with the turnips and creasy greens

turn down the burner because really you're only wilting the greens/tender stems

Well WHOOPS I'm missing a finished picture, mainly because they barely get to the table before this dish is gobbled up! Really they're that good! I did not know until today after looking creasy greens up that they had that much nutritional value in them. I also didn't know that you could eat them raw and are great in a salad. These greens are tender and are sweeter to me than some of the other winter greens. I also didn't know they are a winter green and grow through sub zero temps with little or no trouble even without protection. Creasy greens can be used in place of spinach. I can totally see this knowing how sweet the greens are to me. And definitely didn't know that it's available 3 seasons of the year and has 3 times the amount of vitamin C as oranges and twice as much vitamin A as broccoli according to www.localharvest.org 's product description

http://www.localharvest.org/upland-cress-creasy-greens-seed-C9734

(Barbarea verna BRASSICACEAE)

"Creasy greens" are an old favorite which are as easy to grow as spinach indoors or out, but is more cold tolerant than spinach. Produces rosettes of glossy, green leaves. These slow-bolting greens are popular in the South, and unprotected plants last all winter even in sub-freezing temperatures. Very easy to grow, even on clay soils. A highly nutritious green available 3 seasons of the year. Has 3 times the amount of vitamin C as oranges, and twice the amount of vitamin A as broccoli. Makes a nice topping for salads and can be used in quiche. 

 I copied and pasted for your convenience, but also pasted the link that goes directly to the seeds for purchase and their product description.

I had no idea all this time that they were this good for you! Grandpa Hash gets another brownie point for best Grandpa ever! Try and think about what vegetables that your Grandpa ate and served you as a kid and then look it up. You may be shocked as to how healthy some of those vegetables where?

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