Eat your veggies! Part II

Garlicky Greens
(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

1 huge bunch of greens, mixed or one kind
4 slices of bacon, chopped and rendered (optional)
Bacon fat or olive oil
fine grain sea salt
3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
2 stems of green garlic, sliced (whites and greens)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (opt)
crushed red pepper flakes
toasted pine nuts

Render the chopped bacon, low and slow. Don't rush.

Remove bacon, and let drain on paper towels. Turn pan with the bacon fat and browned bits on to medium low, add a bit of olive oil. Add the garlic and white parts of the green garlic. Cook slowly, about five minutes, and add the salt.

Scoot the garlic up to the sides/edges of the pan and turn the pan to medium/medium high. Add the entire bunch of greens to the pan. (They should be cut into about 1" pieces and washed thoroughly, drained.) A great hint/tip from Heidi - "They should hiss and spit a bit when they hit the pan. " Stir continuously until their color gets bright green, and they just barely start to collapse. They cook REALLY fast, so I suggest aiming for 1-2 minutes, and take them off the heat. The hot pan will continue to cook.

Stir in the green parts of the green garlic, the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Serve immediately! In the bowl/plate, add some of the cooked bacon if you want, and the toasted pine nuts.

To make it a full meal, I topped it with a fried egg. It you keep the egg yolky, it's a yummy collaboration of flavors! Mmmm-almost-vegetarian-meal.

On a side note - every single person out there NEEDS to make Sassy Radish's Apricot Glazed Sriracha Ginger Chicken. Seriously. Everyone. Make it NOW. It's amazing. I made it earlier this week with a whole chicken. OM NOM NOM.