5 March 08 re: the larder, part 1: braised greens

m-c:

I've been working on a new strategy lately that makes healthy cooking easier.

mb:

Tell tell.

m-c:

Well, the idea is to have certain ingredients always cooked and ready to be assembled into a dish or a meal. Not pantry things, stuff that comes in cans and jars and boxes, but whole foods that need some preparation.

mb:

Such as?

m-c:

Such as intact whole grains and cooked dried beans. If every time you use them you have to cook them from scratch, you're not going to use them as often as they deserve.

mb:

Omigosh, the idea of not using enough dried beans must keep you up pacing the floor all night.

m-c:

Mock if you will, but I think I've figured out an important midpoint here, halfway between pantry and fresh. I've started calling it "the larder."

mb:

That's a good name, the larder. So what's in your larder?

m-c:

Today what I want to focus on is braised greens. I've written them up in an appendix that's not completely finished, but you'll get the idea.

mb:

I know that braising is a favorite with you because you're always mentioning it, but I don't actually know what braising is. Enlighten me?

m-c:

Braising takes something to braise plus four elements: a close-fitting covered pot a little liquid a little fat low heat

If you're going to braise, say, 4 chicken thighs, you must find (1) a pot that's just large enough to hold them and put in, say, (2) 2 Tablespoons of white wine and (3) some cut-up raw bacon, then the thighs.

You put the top on the pan, put it in (4) a 325° oven, and go away for an hour and a half. When you get back, you turn the oven off and take the top off the pot.

If the thighs need some browning, you put the pot on the stovetop and brown them up over a moderate flame. If the juice is too runny, same idea, you put the pot on the stovetop and cook away any excess liquid.

That's it. You have braised.

mb:

You make it sound easy.

m-c:

It is easy.

People try to make it harder by insisting that you brown the thighs first, but why? Often they brown themselves sufficiently in the course of the braising, and if not you can always finish them off at the end.

mb:

Let me go read the appendix first. . . . It's not finished yet, is it?

m-c:

That's what I said, it's not finished. I got as far as I could. I don't oven-braise greens once in a blue moon, so I have to do some more experiments before I go telling other people what to do.

mb:

OK, I'll use my imagination. So now I've got this big ol' mess o' greens. What next?

m-c:

Here are just a few dishes that use braised greens: beans and greens soup greens dip for crudités scrambled eggs and greens greens-speckled hummus eggs Benedict with greens greens omelet (with or without cheese) beans and greens soup chicken stuffed with greens greens gratin spaghetti with greens and sausage bruschetta with greens greens lasagna Portuguese potato and greens soup greens risotto fish and greens and coconut soup baked whole grains and greens sweet potato and greens casserole braised greens salad greens with olives, nuts, and raisins macaroni and cheese and greens greens pie

mb:

Geez, Mom, you sound like you're obsessed.

m-c:

Not obsessed, just shrewd. With pre-braised greens on hand, all of a sudden recipes that seemed way too time-consuming to make on a weeknight become a breeze.

And ready-braised greens are great for slipping into any meal that's lacking in leaves (having read Michael Pollan, Mark and I now rate meals by leaf content).

My everyday breakfast has become a tasty concoction of whatever cooked whole grain I have on hand (look for a larder report on cooked whole grains some time soon), braised greens, toasted nuts, dried fruit, and yogurt or broth or unsweetened soymilk. It makes me feel like Tarzan. And then of course I can balance it out with a cinnamon-sugar bagel or a pain au chocolat another day.

mb:

I'll have to give this a try.

m-c:

I want to show you one other thing. A while ago I was doodling a design for some tiles that I decided to do differently, but I still like the designs a lot. Here they are:

   

mb:

Oh Mom, you are obsessed.

m-c:

Wait, wait! You'll never guess what just came on the radio. Steve James and Del Rey singing "Greasy Greens" . . . "nice and easy, good and greasy . . ."

mb:

OK Mom, it's time to stop now. Go to bed, you'll feel better in the morning.

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