After my transplant from Connecticut to the Dallas area twenty-eight years ago, I’ve tip-toed around the Southern idea of cooked “greens”, but other than cooking kale occasionally never really developed an interest. However, in a recent search for a non-dairy source of calcium for aging bones, I found that greens such as collards are a great source of this mineral as well as other complementary vitamins K and A. Collards are one of the cruciferous vegetables in addition to the better known and more consumed broccoli, kale, and cabbage. These greens have great cholesterol-lowering, anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Good for your heart, good for your bones, now how to make them good to eat! I found a great cookbook called Greens Glorious Greens! by Johnna Albi and Catherine Walthers with great information, specific preparation and cooking directions, and great recipes for over thirty of these leafy greens—from arugula to wild greens such as chicory and dandelion.
These authors, as well as Whole Foods website, the world’s healthiest foods ,call collards a nutritional goldmine. But one more obstacle before plunging into my exploration of greens—my Dallas-born husband who dislikes cooked greens. So with a promise of corn muffins and BBQ chicken, I made the following recipe, which is adapted from Greens Glorious Greens!
Collard Greens and Caramelized Onions
12 ounces Collard greens (about 6-7 cups chopped)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 teaspoon agave nectar (or 2 tsp of sugar), for caramelizing the onions
salt to taste
Wash collards, remove stalks, and cut leaves in half. Stack 5 to 6 leaves together and slice into ¼ inch strips. Set aside.
In large, deep skillet (or cast-iron pan) heat olive oil, add onions, and sauté for 15 minutes. Add agave (or sugar) to onion and continue to stir for 2 to 3 minute. Add garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
While the onions are cooking, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a 12-inch skillet with a lid. Add collards, cover, and cook at a good boil for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The greens are bright green, but tender, when ready. Drain in colander.
Stir greens into onions and garlic. Season with salt and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until heated through, Serves 3 to 4.
Adapted from Greens Glorious Greens, page 118.
A great new vegetable recipe to add to my collection, and—yes—my husband did eat all his greens.
Jean
Compost is recycled organic material. Grass clippings, leaves and plant refuse, things that used to be thrown into the landfill, are converted with the help of microbes, molds and insects into food for our garden.
The outside edge (as much as 12” can dry out fairly quickly so I prefer the round style—acts like an insulator. The interior stays moist and heats up with microbial activity. When the pile is turned, the dry outer material is stirred into the moist interior and helps to aerate the pile. Depending on your available space, it is nice to have more than one container so you can move the compost when turning it. Three containers allow you to have compost at different stages of maturation; new, in-process, finished. 
Fifth grade students from West Dallas learn about root crops from Jim and Abbe. Did you know that the turnip or white turnip is a member of the parsley family, Brassica rapa var. rapa? It is a root vegetable known for its bulbous tap root which is high in vitamin C and grown as a food crop for both humans and livestock. Turnips are easy and quick to grow (35-70 days) and can be eaten raw (roots) or cooked (roots and leaves). Turnips like well-tilled soil and constant water. Both of these conditions are provided in our raised organic beds via our home-made compost and drip irrigation system.
Carolyn demonstrates the technique of hand-spinning cotton thread to the fifth grade students . Did you know that cotton is the most important non-food crop in the world? Cotton has been spun, woven & dyed since prehistoric times. Today, industrial uses for cotton are just as important as the cloth that originally was woven. These products vary widely from cloth-based such as diapers, bandages, and paper to cosmetics, soap and oils; dynamite and plastics; and that sidewalk scourge, chewing gum (cellulose). There are 39 different species of the genus Gossypium, 4 of which were commercially grown since all cotton was domesticated in antiquity. The variety G. hirsutum became known as “upland cotton” and comprises 90% of the world’s cotton crop.
A 5th grade student from West Dallas Community School gets up close & personal with a “red wiggler” worm. During our Vermi-composting lesson, he & his classmates learned that this little ‘Eisenia fetida’ is one of approximately 2700 different kinds of worms of a large variety of species. Did you know that “red wigglers” (aka brown-nose or red worms) work best in container/bin composting. That’s because they are non-burrowing and move horizontally through the soil.
Journaling is an integral component of the educational program offered by the Demonstration Garden. Our Nature Journals, made from recycled materials are constructed by our student visitors and personalized to reflect their connections with the garden. A 5th grader from West Dallas Community School proudly proclaims, “Nature is My Life.” Her journal became her memory book of observations, descriptions, illustrationsand connections; a special way of carrying a piece of the garden home with her.
DALLAS GARDEN BUZZ 