Freezing Greens
I can’t be the only person who is overwhelmed by the amount of green leafy vegetables I get from my garden. There is just no way that two adults and three small kids can eat that many greens in one week. And even if we managed to eat them all one week, come the next Wednesday we get even more!
I hate throwing away any of the greens and if we I don’t deal with them each week, they just pile up and rot in the back of the refrigerator.
So this method, which works on pretty much any green leafy vegetable (other than lettuce) helps preserve not only the greens, but also my sanity.
How To Frozen Greens
Take whatever green leafy vegetable you have – in this case, a bunch of chard.
Chop roughly and wash. No need to dry the greens before you steam them – you can leave them sopping wet.
Take a medium or large pot and add about a quarter-inch of water to the bottom of the pot. Put a steaming rack in the pot. If you don’t have a steaming rack, you can do this without, but you’ll have to watch the greens more carefully and dry them better at the end. Place your wet greens on top of the rack, and cover the pot.
Set the stove to high and let the greens steam for 2-4 minutes (depending on the green – tougher greens will take a little longer than softer ones). When the leaves turn bright green, turn off the pot and immediately remove the cover.
Move the greens to a cutting board. (If the greens are very wet, a clean rag or paper towel under them will help absorb the excess moisture before freezing, which will keep them fresher in the freezer.) Allow the greens to cool to room temperature.
Once the greens are cooled, place them in a labeled freezer bag. Squeeze the excess air out, zip it up and freeze it!
What do I do with my frozen greens? Use these just like you would use any frozen greens you bought at the grocery store. I like to throw them into casseroles, lasagnas, pasta dishes, soups for an extra hit of nutrition.
Northerly Nosh 