Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Delicious & tender baby collard leaves

For all you collard greens lovers out there who grow your own collards, here is a tip.

Collard farmers cut off the whole plant when they harvest the crop. Not so when you grow your own.

Y'all know, when you grow your own collards, you pick your collard leaves starting at the bottom and cut the leaves as they mature. This extends the growing season.

However, at some point the plants will start to "bolt," that is to make a flowering head. When that happens, break off the tops with the budding flowers. (You can use these in a tasty salad.) The smaller leaves will grow larger but only about half the size of a mature leaf or less. Harvest them for very tender and deliciously tasty greens to add to salads.

I call them "baby collards."

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