AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
For sale
Vegetables, fruits and nuts: Asian greens, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, cornmeal, endive, escarole, fennel, frisee, green onions, grits, herbs, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, lettuce, mizuna, mushrooms, mustard greens, Napa cabbage, pecans, peppers, polenta, popcorn, radicchio, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips and greens, winter squash
— From local reports
More and more farmers markets are staying open throughout the year. For their loyal customers, that’s welcome news. When there’s no weekly farmers market, customers miss their weekly fix of farmer interaction and local produce.
For the farmers, it’s good news as well. After all, the greens just keep growing right through our cold winter months. Who’s going to eat all those mustard and turnip greens?
Swain Hunt and his wife Mildred of Hunt’s Family Garden in Fayetteville have a garden patch of about an acre and sell their produce at the Our Community Farmers Market in Peachtree City. The market is continuing through the winter. This year, the Hunts are taking a winter break and won’t be back at the market until about May. If we have a hard freeze, the greens will die back, but Hunt will plant again as soon as spring weather permits.
As for the greens that continue to grow in their garden? The Hunts will be eating those themselves.
“I’m from Chicago and my wife is from Mississippi. We’ve been married 29 years. I used to be a meat and potatoes guy but I’ve learned to appreciate greens during those 29 years,” Swain Hunt said. “Greens are easy to grow, taste delicious and they’re good for you. And that’s why you get out there in the dirt. To get something to grow that’s good for you and tastes good.”
Their favorite way to prepare mustard and turnip greens? Chopped up young leaves mixed together then simply sauteed with olive oil, onions and black pepper. If they’ve got lots of company coming for a holiday meal, then they’ll boil mature leaves for a big pot of greens.
“We grow Southern Green turnips. They’re a hybrid that is grown just for its foliage, not the roots. It grows fast, regrows fast after you cut it, and that’s good for bringing to market. They’re especially fast to grow in the spring as the weather warms up,” Hunt said.
For mustard greens, he prefers Florida Broad Leaf and Purple Osaka.
“We crop them by snapping off the mature leaves,” he said. “That leaves the smaller leaves to grow on. And we do succession sowing, planting some seed this week and two weeks later planting again. I like to say we’re gardeners, not farmers, so we plant maybe 50 to 100 feet at a time.”
The biggest challenge in growing turnip and mustard greens is the insects. “The bugs don’t discriminate,” he said. “They like both mustard and turnip greens, just like we do.”
The Hunts have a few other greens in their garden including kale and Tokyo bekana. “But the turnip greens are the most popular.”
Turnip and mustard greens will keep in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks if washed, shaken dry and then packaged in ventilated plastic bags. Discard any yellowing leaves and strip the leaves off the stems before using. That’s easy to do, just grab the leaf from the bottom and tear it off the stem from the base to the tip.
Leif Johnson’s Coconut-Creamed Greens
Leif Johnson is chef and owner of Bellwoods Social House and Bite Bistro & Bar. He enjoys combining Asian, Latin and Southern flavors and this coconut-creamed greens recipe is an example of that kind of creative thinking. The sweetness of the coconut pairs nicely with mustard or turnip greens that feature a bit of a bitter bite.
1 head garlic
2 1/4 teaspoons coconut or olive oil, divided
12 packed cups chopped turnip or mustard greens, stems removed
2 (13.5-ounce) cans regular coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Honey (optional)
1/2 cup unsweetened shaved coconut, roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Make roasted garlic: Peel the loose outer layers off garlic and cut off 1/4-inch from stem end, exposing the cloves. Place garlic on a 12-by-12-inch piece of foil and drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon coconut or olive oil. Bring edges of foil together and seal garlic tightly. Put on a small baking sheet and roast 45 minutes to 1 hour or until fragrant and softened. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
In a large saucepan, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil and add as many greens as will fit into the pan. Keep tossing and sauteing and as greens reduce in volume, add more until all greens are in the pan. Cook until slightly wilted, about 10 minutes. Add coconut milk and six cloves roasted garlic. Reserve remaining roasted garlic for another use. Bring mixture to a boil and cook greens 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, add salt and cook uncovered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Preheat broiler.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse cooked greens until coarsely chopped. Do not puree. Pulse in honey, if desired, to counterbalance any bitterness in the greens. Taste for salt and adjust seasoning as needed. Transfer mixture to a shallow baking dish and sprinkle coconut over greens. Run dish under broiler until coconut is golden brown. Serve warm. Makes: 5 cups
Per 1/2-cup serving: 233 calories (percent of calories from fat, 79), 3 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 22 grams fat (19 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 134 milligrams sodium.
