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Purchase heirloom seedlings from Wisdom Gardens Babies! Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. is holding its first Wisdom Gardens Heirloom Veg- etable Plant Sale on May 6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Wisdom Gardens (3203 SE 109 th Ave.). An array of heirloom vegetable seedlings for your summer garden will be available. Unlike the vegetables you purchase at your local supermarket, heir- loom seeds are saved and cultivated from year to year to preserve their unique flavors and health benefits. Vegetable plants available at the sale include purple tomato, cherry tomato, Red Siberian tomato, tomatillo, golden beet, Early Wonder beet, summer squash; Aurora Benji Johns Aurora Benji Johns was born April 10, 2017, at 8 p.m. at Glendive Medical Center in Glendive, Mont. She weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. She is the daughter of Keaston Johns and Nicholas Boyce. Lakota winter squash, romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard; cilantro, ama- ranth, watercress, basil, edamame, pump- kin, broccoli, cayenne pepper, Mesclum lettuce, Oregon sugar pod pea, Armenian cucumber and English cucumber. Individual plants are $1 each; pack of 12 plants is $10; and a pack of 25 plants is $25. Volunteers needed for Discovering Our Story TV Would you like to learn studio televi- sion production as part of Wisdom’s TV studio team? Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. is recruiting volunteers interested in learn- ing studio television production skills. Don’t forget your sustainable veg- etable garden guide book available with any purchase. Wisdom will pay the training fee for Native youth and adults interested in serv- ing on our TV team and will pay tuition for the training at Open Signal (previously Portland Community Media TV). All proceeds from this plant sale will help purchase and install a high-tunnel hoop house at Wisdom Gardens. Contact Wisdom’s multimedia coor- dinator Tim for more info at 503-775-4014 or tim@wisdomoftheelders.org. Getting to know nutritious greens by name, learning their benefits By Nancy Ludwig, MS, RD, LD, Siletz Tribal Head Start Nutrition As part of my role as a consultant nutritionist to Siletz Tribal Head Start, I offer information for families. This seg- ment reviews some of the many types of greens that can be grown locally as well as purchased at the store. Most people benefit from having them every day. Greens can be cooked as a side dish, added to soups and casseroles, and featured in salads and even smoothies. You may enjoy some greens raw and others cooked. See the alphabetic guide below for short descriptions. What greens have you and your children tried? Which ones might you plan to introduce to your children? How might you prepare them? Which ones do you prefer raw and which ones are better cooked? When cooking greens, remember that using lemon or vinegar with some fat (i.e., olive oil or butter) makes the experi- ence more pleasant and likely to repeat, thereby providing good nutrition. Greens are loaded with nutrients, but you have to eat them in order to benefit. Arugula (or rocket): Primarily used as a salad green. Provides distinctive fla- vor – resembles mildly spicy watercress, slightly nutty. Looks like a cross between dandelion and oak leaf lettuce. Arugula is higher in calcium than kale or collards. Delicious as salad greens, used in sandwiches or as herb (including pesto). Beet Greens: Edible and delicious tops are better sources of vitamins and minerals than the beets themselves. Pos- sess complex flavor that is earthy yet mild, with overtones of the sweet beetroot. Bok Choy: Delicately flavored and quick-cooking Asian green. Available in most U.S. supermarkets but generally not used regularly by American cooks. A tall plant – 12-18 inches from the base to the leaf top. The long leaf stalks are crisp, thick and white. The leaves are very dark green and slightly thick. Both the leaves and stalks are edible. Contains vitamins A and C as well as sulforaphane, which helps protect against cancer. Also available as baby bok choy. Can be stir-fried, added to soups or one-pot Asian dishes. Often prepared with Asian seasonings such as tamari or shoyu, roasted sesame oil and hot peppers. Broccoli Rabe: A relative of broc- coli and mix of long thin broccoli-like 4 • Siletz News • stalks, leafy greens and small florets. Chop them all together and cook them at the same time. Broccoli rabe is described as an aggressive or assertive green with a pungent, bitter flavor, which adds zest to blander foods. Traditionally found in small Italian and Asian markets. Now frequently found on restaurant menus. Italians commonly serve broccoli rabe as a side dish, cooked with garlic and olive oil. Cabbage: One of the world’s most widely grown vegetables. Can be steamed, stir-fried, boiled, added to soups and pickled. Common types include green, red and savoy. Chard: One of the most mild-tasting cooking greens – sweet, slightly earthy and succulent. It is also one of the most versatile. It can be used, leaf and stalk, as a vegetable in its own right – the leaves or stalks can be used in soups and the leaves make a light wrap for fish and grains. This green is quite easy to prepare and is loaded with vitamins A and C. Long growing season. Common forms include Swiss, rhubarb (or red) chard or rainbow chard. Takes well to olive oil and lemon juice. Quick cooking like spinach – from the same family. Collard Greens: Most commonly prepared in the South in a large pot of water flavored with smoked ham or ham hock. Nutritionally, collards are a goldmine. According to the USDA Composition of Foods, collard greens outrank broccoli, spinach and mustard greens in nutritional value. Collard greens are low in calories, high in fiber and rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, calcium and B vitamins. Depending on the cooking method, collards can have a mild, likable taste, though not as sweet as kale. They lack bit- terness. Generally consumed cooked since they taste grassy when eaten raw in a salad. They taste great when simply pre- pared with olive oil and onions, leeks or garlic. Strong flavorings such as hot pep- per, ginger, curry, vinegar, hot sauce and bacon also enhance the flavor. Slivered collard greens taste good in soups and bean stews. Flavor and texture is generally preferred when prepared in boiling water as compared to steaming. Be sure to save the cooking water for soup stock. Dandelion Greens: Inherently bitter. Choose ways to mask or reduce bitterness in preparations. According to Peter Gail, author of The Dandelion Celebration: A Guide to Unexpected Cuisine (Cleveland: May 2017 Goosefoot Acres Press, 1994), the foods that complement and best reduce the bit- terness are olive oil, garlic, pork fat in some form, eggs, vinegar, lemon juice, cheese, tomatoes and bread. Gail’s basic method is as follows: Wash the greens thoroughly in warm water, cut off any roots or tough stems and sprinkle the greens with salt. Cook the greens in a covered skillet, with just the water clinging to the washed leaves, for 5-10 minutes. Drain and chop. At this point, sauté and add your seasonings, or add the greens to a particular dish such as lasagna or quiche. Alternatively, blanch greens in boiling water for 2-5 minutes. Some of the green’s bitter compounds will leach into the water, making the greens more palatable. Be careful with your source if harvesting your own. Kale: Often found on a salad bar between the bowls even though kale is often placed on the list of the top 10 healthiest foods you can eat. Also referred to as the “king of calcium.” One cup con- tains more than 5 grams of fiber (more than a serving of oat bran cereal) but only 43 calories. That same cup provides the daily requirements for vitamins A and C and 134 mg of calcium. Kale has a pleasantly mellow flavor of its own, not quite so mild as spinach or Swiss chard, but not so strong tasting as mustard greens. The way it is cooked can enhance its flavor. Best boiled in water. Be sure to save the cooking water (pot likker). Delicious in soups, stir-fries and even grilled. Enhanced by olive oil, garlic, onion and/or leeks. Many different vari- eties of kale are available, including Red Russian and Italian. Mustard Greens: Bright green with frilly-edged leaves and a mustardy per- fume in the fresh state. When cooked, they often turn a drab green and have a rather stringy, thin texture. Some recipes make the best of their unique flavors. Mustard greens do not lend them- selves to steaming, but mix well with other milder greens or beans, and other sweet vegetables such as carrots, corn, sweet potatoes and leeks. Add to soups, gumbos or stews to contribute a hint of spiciness. Mustard greens take well to stir-frying or sautéing with other vegetables. Parsley: Another way to add green leaves to your menu. Parsley is one of the most widely used herbs. Offers bright fresh green flavor while still able to blend into many dishes. Use in soups, salads, pesto, pasta, vegetables, eggs and pota- toes. Most common varieties are Italian flat leaf or curly leaf. Spinach: One of the most versatile and mild-tasting greens. When sautéed, spinach wilts and cooks in 2-4 minutes. Spinach is high in antioxidant vita- mins A, C and E. Spinach makes the top 10 list for fruits and vegetables highest in carotenoids (including beta carotene). Spinach fulfills the daily requirement for folacin (folic acid), an important B-vitamin. Spinach also is high in oxalic acid, which binds with calcium and iron to make them less available for nutrition. For best sources of calcium and iron, consume kale, turnip greens and watercress. Turnip Greens: Difficult to find in the stores as they often are confused with mustard greens, from the same fam- ily. Both are among the bitter dark leafy greens. Use cooking methods similar to mustard greens. Turnip greens are one of the best sources of calcium among the dark leafy greens. Other key nutrients include fiber, vitamin A, vitamin E, iron and potassium. Watercress: Incredibly nutritious. It is high in vitamins C, B1 and B2; has almost three times the calcium of spinach; and is comparable to carrots as a source for vitamin A. It is also a source of copper, iron and magnesium. With its pungent flavor and beautiful dark green color, watercress is a welcome addition to many recipes. Its peppery and spicy leaves boost the flavor and appear- ance of salads with milder greens. Soups shine when watercress is stirred in at the last minute to offer a more subtle taste. Wild Greens: There is a lot to be said for picking and eating wild greens. Some people harvest their weeds (greens) from their own backyards! Wild greens often surpass their cultivated cousins in vitamins and minerals. Common edible wild greens include amaranth, chickweed, chicory, curled dock, dandelion, lamb’s quarters, mustard greens, nettles, poke- weed, purslane and violet leaves. Siletz Tribal Head Start offers my time at no cost to you to support family nutrition over the telephone. Please con- tact me if you have nutrition concerns about your Head Start child. Healthy children make for healthy communities. We are in this together.
