Thank you for the overwhelming response to this giveaway! A winner has been chosen–scroll down to the end of the post for details.
Instead of one recipe today, how about an entire book? Because I took the photos for Wild About Greens, Nava Atlas’ brilliant new cookbook, her editor was kind enough to send me several copies, and I would like to pass two of those books on to a couple of my faithful readers. So look below for details on how you can enter to win.
But first, some photos of the book:
When you take photos for a book, you never know how they’ll look; the designers crop them to fit their layout and design and sometimes even flip them so that they are mirror images of the way you actually shot them. The designers of Wild About Greens did a fantastic job of editing my photos, making them look better than I ever expected.
My photos are in a color insert in the middle of the book, but Nava’s lovely illustrations grace almost every page. One of my favorite sections is the introduction to leafy greens which gives information on 18 different types of greens.
But my very favorite page? That would have to be the title page!
For more information about the book, as well as the recipe for Nava’s Three Potato Salad with Arugula, see my earlier post.
If you would like a chance to win your own copy of Wild About Greens, all you have to do is leave a comment below telling me your favorite leafy green vegetable and how you like to prepare it. The contest will close at noon Central time on Wednesday, June 20, when I will pick a winner at random. Check back here to see if you’ve won. But wait! For a second chance to win, check my Facebook page, where I’m running a second contest simultaneously. Leave a comment on the Wild About Greens post there, and I’ll select a winner at random from those entries, too.
Update: The contest is now over. The winning comment, selected by Random.org, is number 425, by Sheila, who wrote, “I love baby bok choy stir ‘fried’ with veggie broth with shiitake mushrooms and other veggies over brown rice. Sometimes I thicken the sauce with a corn starch slurry for a thicker coating over my rice.” Congratulations, Sheila! Baby bok choy is one of my favorites, too.
Thank you for all your comments, especially for the cooking suggestions. I could cook greens all year using your ideas!
If you entered in the Facebook giveaway, be sure to check my Facebook page for the winner.
Thank you!
(This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy something through them, a few pennies on each dollar goes to support my work on this site. Thank you!)
Suzy
I love mustard greens mixed with spinach served with tomato sauce, curry, chilli, and cumin. I would love to have your book. I have been a faithful visitor to your blog it is just that I never registered until recently.
Colleen
My favorite leafy green (right now anyway) is kale. Sauteed or braised, thrown into a soup, raw as the base of a salad, the star of a green smoothy…doesn’t matter, it’s all good to me; it’s crazy versatile!
And I must say this: between your blog and Nava’s book The Vegetarian Family Cookbook (my first veg recipe book), I was able to make the transition from omnivore to vegan COLD TURKEY two years ago. After trying several recipes from both sources, I learned that not only was veganism easy and practical, but that it could be delicious too! Thanks so much to you both, and congratulations on the new book!
Andrea
Kale! I put it in smoothies, soup and on pizza.
Thomas Eovaldi
I enjoy your website very much, helped me lose 38 pounds, and drop cholesterol from 245 to 165 in three months.
Emily
My favorite leafy veg is kale! I love kale and white bean hash!
Nick
Collards with defatted ham shank broth and bits of ham (and blackeyed peas are always welcome!)
Jessica
I love spinach fruit smoothies. Blueberry, banana, peach, any combination of fruit with a handful of spinach and almond milk or coconut milk.
Jessica
KALE!!!! Raw!!
Lynne
My favourite green vegetable is Brussels Sprouts. I slice them thinly and saute in a little oil and lemon juice with garlic, sliced almonds (or pistachios), cumin seeds and poppy or sesame seeds.
ejames
I saute KALE with garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, rosemary and white beans. Add water to wilt and then serve on crostini. It’s amazing!
Nicole
Kale is my favourite, roasted in the oven with ginger and sesame seeds. I also love it in my smoothies, great energy booster!
karyn h
I freally like kale …and baby spinach….pretty much equally.
I guess my favorite thing to do with either of them, is to just add them to some of my favorite recipes for a bit of a twist. My hubby gladly eats enchiladas or lasagna with a layer of greens.
Frances
Collards are my favorite leafy greens. I sauté them slightly with a few cloves of garlic in a seasoned cast iron skillet with just the water from their rinsing, or just eat them raw!!! Nothing better!
Melissa
Kale and spinach! In smoothies!
Colleen
I love putting spinach in my smoothies. I love the beautiful green color that it turns my smoothies.
June
The photos look beautiful. Although kale is a household fave, love adding watercress to salads. Peppery bite with so many good benefits. (thankful for your site too)
catherine laboski
i am new to the vegetarian/vegan way of life so my experience with greens is probably quite limited compared to many others out there, but so far, my favorite way to eat greens is by adding piles of fresh, crispy kale to a thick, garlicky white bean soup.
Anne Gubbins
I enjoy leafy greens in salad and am just beginning to learn other ways to use them. As a new vegan, I am having a lot of fun as I explore new foods and preparations. I recently tried a kale salad recipe that was great.
carol
Love arugala on a sandwich w avocado and tomato!
Claire
I think my fave leafy veg would have to be spinach. I love making a grape and spinach salad with a fruit juice dressing- it’s one of my favourite breakfasts.
Ollie
I love love LOVE kale. I chop it up and mix it with cilantro, jalapeno, olive oil, lime juice, and cumin. So incredibly good!
Sherry
My favorite green, besides kale, is Swiss chard. It goes like a weed in my garden, all summer and into fall. Love it sautéed with loads of garlic, smoked paprika and some thinly sliced onion.
Cece
Thanks for bringing this book to my attention! I eat kale every. single. day. It is just easy to incorporate into my daily lunch salads (chopped small and mixed in with everything else). This book looks like it has inspiration for those greens out the ears! Thank you for the giveaway!
Amber
Congrats, Susan, the book looks beautiful!
I have a hard time picking between greens. I love collards simmered with garlic, onions, broth, liquid smoke, hot pepper flakes, and cider vinegar. I also love kale — your North African Kale and Chickpea soups is one of my favorite ways to eat it. I love greens!
Nancy
Kale ~ in your Hot Skillet Salad. My first try with kale, loved it…who’d a thought? Now I’ve tried it many ways and enjoy it!
natalie!
KALE!! massaged in some carrot ginger dressing and served with pan fried tempeh n’ chickpeas! NOM!
Tess McLoud
Susan, I adore your blog! I would have to say that my favorite green is spinach, which I suppose is rather mundane as a choice, but I love to eat it raw by itself sometimes (it is so pillowy and lovely) or on a bagel slathered with hummus and topped with olives and spinach. Weird, but there you go. I also adore a good swiss chard soup.
Keep up the good work! I check your blog almost every day.
Suzie Bachinsky
Do I have to pick one? I love spinach because it is easy to sneek past my kids in so many things. HeHe. I also love kale and love love making kale chips!!!!!
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
wow that book looks beautiful! love those full color photos!
Esther F
Kale is definitely my favorite! But you’ve never had them right until you’ve eaten them as what’s now called “Baby Kale” straight out of the garden! I grew up on them – just that with salt and lemon on it. Or a vegan version of something like ranch dressing – even better!! I could eat them every other day all year long!!! 🙂
Dana
Oh my goodness – just one favorite green? Probably Kale, and my favorite way to enjoy it is cut into ribbons, then massaged with olive oil, lemon juice and salt, until it slumps. Then wait for about half an hour, throw some minced garlic and red pepper flakes as well as chopped tomatoes and any color bell pepper. then taste for seasoning and add a little more lemon juice and/or salt if necessary.
I also really like it sliced thin and simmered in gumbo or sauteed with garlic. Yum and more yum.
Elizabeth
I like Swiss Chard in a curried yellow lentil and sweet potato soup!
Heidi
Kale….drizzled with lemon juice, pine nuts and dried cranberries
Linda Gleason
I love swiss chard! It substitutes in any recipe using spinach and tastes great itself. It can also be doctored up with balsamic vinegar and garlic as well as cream sauces. I think it is the most versatile vegetable!
Linda Austin Hart
First my story:
2+ years ago I became a ffv and it changed my life forever. When my much-in-demand m.d. told me (after 4 yrs of nagging) that I could not lower my dangerously high cholesterol with diet alone & must take a statin Rx or she would cease to be my physician I caved in & told her o.k.
But 1 week later I visited my daughter who convinced me to put away the pills. She cooked all ffv meals for five days I was with her & the delish. food persuaded me I could live without steak, butter, and fudge. So when I returned home I put the pills away for good & instead I took Fuhrman’s 6 week challenge. Your recipes kept me going. When I went in for a CBC 5 weeks later my choles. had dropped 56 points. I told my dr. it was my diet, that I’d not taken the statins, & initially she was at a loss for words, then told me to continue doing what I was doing because it was the best she’d ever seen.
Now, the reason my life (&diet) changed forever was not the lowered cholesterol, but less than 2 weeks eating this new way I realized I was having no pain rebound when I kept forgetting to take my pain meds on time. Over the 3rd week I gradually weaned off 4 pain meds, one of them a narcotic. I ‘d had constant pain due to failed back surgery 2 yrs prior & also due to acute arthritis. I am pain free and attribute it entirely to diet.
Additionally I’ve learned to love all beans,and many other vegetables which I previously disliked (hated, actually) & refused my entire life. I’ve discovered new grains , nutr. yeast, & many other foods, including eggplant, sw. potatoes, squashes, kale & collards which I’d never eaten before. I would NOT have been able to stick with this eating style without your wonderful recipes. THANK YOU SUSAN!
I still get hungry for the foods I’ve given up, and get bored, frustrated , & discouraged learning how to cook all over after 50 years of loving to cook the traditional Amer. diet. Many vegan blogs & new cookbooks have been a boon, including Nava’s, but yours is my favorite standby.
Now for my favorite greens recipe. Despite shying away from vegetables for 60+ years, I’ve always loved spinach–raw & fresh from my garden, or cooked, in soufflés, or casseroles, but my absolute favorite has not changed:
K.I.S.S. Spinach
1 pound fresh Spinach, washed in cool water. Only shake off the excess water.
Fish&chips vinegar*
Stuff spinach into a 3 qt sauce pan with a glass lid. Put it on medium high heat.
As soon as you see steam form water droplets on inside of lid, & just as soon as you see the spinach start to wilt, remove it from heat & let it stand a minute. It will shrink a little more. Then take the lid off & stir it. If any of it still is cool or unwilted, put it back on heat until reduced in volume.
Lift it out of the pan & pack it firmly into a medium size bowl with. Tilt to remove any liquid, & turn it upside-down onto serving plate or low rimmed serving bowl.
Serve by cutting into wedges & let each person shake desired amount of *vinegar over it. Yum.
It is also very attractive packed tightly into individual pyrex custard dishes & turned upside down onto each person’s warm dinner plate.
I used to crumble sieved hard boiled egg yolk on top of molded spinach as garnish. Now I omit. I have put slice lemon or a spoonful of nutritional yeast flakes on top of it, & it is a good combo. But I like it best plain with vinegar.
My husband eats his with butter.
*can substitute with lemon juice, balsamic or cider vinegar
Kelster
My favourite is callaloo (called amaranth in some places). It’s similar to spinach and is grown in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries. I saute it with onions, tomatoes, escallion, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Tonight I used it in a quiche. That may become my favourite way!
Lacey
I love greens! I eat a plate of baby spring greens with plain lemon juice squeezed over them with almost every meal, even breakfast. This winter I discovered your hot skillet salad recipe…Yum!
maria
Kale in smoothies and juices!
Wendy
I like steamed spinach with just a bit of salt. Plain, but oh so good!
Maria B.
I’m a fan of spinach. One of my favorite ways to prepare it is to just steam it. Simple, yet tasty.