Asian Radishes and Cooking Greens

Small Asian Radishes from Harry's Garden

Friday I had made plans to go buy eggs and tomatoes from Harry and Carole Brown.  As usual he loaded me up with many additional goodies including Asian Radishes which upon tasting my husband LOVED and so did I and I am not usually a radish fan!  He also gave me a huge bag of greens and Carole gave me her recipe for the way she fixes them.  The cooking time can vary depending what texture you prefer.  I simmered these all afternoon for a very succulent and tender dish which we loved. 

The greens were a combination of Kale's, Turnips, and Collards.  They were just wonderful and had big flavor.  Much more than I would have ever dreamed!

Beautiful just picked greens!

Carole's Ingredients for Cooking Greens (as best i remember)

Grocery sack of greens
1 to 3 strips thick cut bacon diced
1 diced onion
1 large clove garlic chopped
1/4-1/2 t. red pepper flakes
8 -9 C. water
3 T. beef bouillon granules or 9-10 cubes
1/4 C. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Washy and de-vein the leaves being sure to tear out the tough main stems and veins.  Roll handfuls of leaves and slice roll about 1" thick and then cut once through the middle.

In a very large kettle cook the bacon until not quite crisp then throw in the onion and garlic and stir well.  After a minute or so add all of the greens, water, pepper flakes and bouillon.  Simmer over low heat 3-5 hours or all day if it suits you!  About 1 hour before serving time add the vinegar, salt and pepper.  Today I am serving the greens with home fries, and pork chops and an apple pie for dessert.

I served the greens in a side dish with an extra splash of balsamic vinegar along with the home fries and pan fried pork chops.

To prepare Asian Radishes for a Veggie Tray:

Peel, slice longways, and let stand is very cold water or in the refrigerator until serving time.  Veggie trays I often serve right when my husband comes home from work.  He always wants to munch on something at that time and it keeps him out of the chips and crackers!  Today we had the Asian radishes paired with carrots, celery, and cold blanched asparagus with a buttermilk dip.