Freegan Greens

Whenever I go to our local farmers' markets I always ask for free beet greens and other scraps. The farmer's are always happy to give these away since they usually need to truck them back to the farm where they wind up in the compost heap. It amazes me that people buy beets but don't want the greens. Lately I've been collecting the leaves that are trimmed off of cauliflower and broccoli too. There's little difference between these and collard greens. They just take a little more trimming and cooking time. Collecting this kind of discarded produce is called freeganism and with the economy the way it is, more and more people are doing it. And frankly, greens like these are incredibly tasty and full of vitamins and minerals. If you insist on paying for your greens, Trader Joe's has a prewashed bagged mix called Southern Greens that's pretty good.
I cooked up my freegan greens in the Fissler Blue Point pressure pan and flavored the greens with turkey tasso (spicy turkey ham) from Schexnayder's Acadian Foods . I used the pressure pan as a conventional skillet, with the glass lid, but you could use the pressure lid and cook your mess of greens really quickly.

Freegan Greens and Tasso
Saute one chopped onion in olive oil, add two quarts of trimmed, chopped greens (cut out tough stems), or one bag of Trader Joe's greens, or two bunches of store bought greens. Saute for ten minutes, add a cup of broth, water or white wine and a cup of chopped turkey tasso, or pork ham, or smoked tofu (all of which are optional but good for protein). Cook covered for fifteen minutes. Add salt or seasonings as desired.