2019 Here it is and full of Surprises...

Click here for Audio

Last week was a Great week for me. I learned a couple of things and one I learned by simply stepping out of my comfort zone.

A couple of weeks ago I was doing some research about cancer groups and programs for marketing my book. One of the organizations I came across was Cancer Support Community Arizona, www.cscaz.org. I found the website interesting and easy to navigate. Eventually, I created an account and curiously signed up for their produce pick up program. I received a call from Linda, a volunteer at CSCAZ, to remind me of the produce pick up later in the day on the 10th. Extra produce from local farms is taken to CSCAZ and available for pick up by people who register for a pick up. So I followed through and went over to the facility in Phoenix at 4 pm. Thankfully, I was in the downtown area, so it was just around the corner.

CSCAZ is a very pleasant place. Everyone I encountered was nice and helpful. The buildings were very charming. I found my way to the produce pick up area and the produce guy had not finished setting up so I talked with a woman that had recently battled breast cancer. Her hair looked great and she seemed in good spirits. The produce guy let us know he was done setting up so we lined up. I did not have a bag so they gave me a bag. We walked around the table and chose the vegetables we wanted. Now I am one that loves trying new things so I basically grabbed one of everything I could. A grapefruit, I like to eat them with salt, three red potatoes, three turnips with the greens still attached, arugula and three different types of greens that I had no idea what they were. The produce guy was there to just deliver, so he wasn't sure either. They were giving it away so I figured why not try it. I also belong to a Facebook group, Living the Greenlife, that I may be able to find out what they are through them. Sure enough, I posted the picture on their page and they had a lot of great guesses. Celery leafs, Mizuna, Bok Choy, Chinese Celery, Tatsoi, Chrysanthemum leaves. And they are......... starting with the left, Tatsoi, top right, Chrysanthemum leaves and bottom right, Celery leaf. Mystery solved, now what to do with them

While I think about it, I looked up what to do with the turnips. First I cut the greens off the turnips. I will use them to make a pot of greens (think I'm on to an idea here). I googled turnip recipies and found a simple recipie to roast them. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut them in one inch cubes, put them in a bowl with olive oil, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme. Push it all around until its coated, put on a baking sheet and put in oven to cook for 20-25 mins. Very tasty and keeps well for leftovers. I also saw where you could combine potatoes and turnips and mash them. The turnips are earthy with a slight tang to the flavor. So I believe turnips would bring a welcomed dimesion to mashing them with potatoes.

L-Chrysanthemum leaves, TR-Celery Leaf, BR-Cooked greens

Back to the greens, as I did figure out what I was going to do with them. First off I took the turnip greens, chrysanthemum greens, celery leaf and tossed in some of the collard greens from my garden with ham to make a pot of greens. The weather has been cold lately, so a warm bowl of greens with bread or crackers sounds really good from time to time and this momma puts her foot in her greens.

Lets get started: Wash the greens, tear them a bit as the collard green leaves can get very large. I also pulled some scallions out of my garden and cut them up. Diced four cloves of garlic. Put it all in the crock pot with chicken broth (at least a quart), ham and seasonings (Lawry's, pepper, red pepper flakes. You can stuff it to the top with the greens as once they start wilting there will be plenty of room in the pot for it all. I usually put the ham or ham hock on top of the greens to weigh them down into the broth. Cover and turn on the crock pot and let it cook all day, stirring occasionally, tasting and seasoning as needed. Yummy to my tummy and comforting on a cold day. I was a little nervous as I had no idea how these greens would taste when cooked, but they all blended well together. The chrysanthemum leaves have a bit of a peppery, mustardy flavor to them. So mixing them with the milder turnip and collard greens was a good call. I would say a 2 or 3:1 ratio, mild greens to chrysanthemum leaves.

Now what to do about the Tatsoi. Tatsoi is related to Bok Choy and just the other day my cousin Tammy was telling me about a great Bok Choy stir fry recipie she had and they loved. So I text her for the recipie but she was at work and said my Aunt Janie, her mother, had the recipie. I contacted my aunt and she shared the ingredients with me as well as about how much. Please note, I rarely measure when I cook, but I do like to know the general measurements so I don't do too much of one thing. I cut the leaves from the stem and since they weren't huge like collard leaves I left them whole for the most part. Additional ingredients are: 4 tbsp Ginger, 4 cloves of garlic (give or take depending on your garlic tolerance, Janie likes a lot of garlic), Sesame  & Olive oil, Rice Vinegar, Braggs Amionos, salt and pepper to taste. I added scallions to it because they were there.... In a large skillet or wok over medium to medium high heat add oils, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. I use a 2:1 ratio for Olive to Sesame oils. Add garlic, scallions and ginger and keep it moving, when the scallions are translucent, this happens quickly, start adding Tatsoi leaves and keep it moving. You don't want any of it to burn (totally kills the taste). Sprinkle in the Rice Vinegar and Braggs Amionos to taste. Once all the Tatsoi leaves have wilted, you have your stir fried Tatsoi and it is the 💣.

That is not all I learned this week, but as this post is already quite long I will save my other learning experience for the next blog. Until then Have a wonderful week!!!