The amazing collard green!

After a much needed rain last night, I went to check on the garden this morning and was amazed at how quickly things can grow when they're watered by the clouds vs when they are watered by me! It's as if the plants decided to double their size overnight. Well, when I noticed the big collard greens I decided soup was on the menu today!

After enjoying a nice big bowl of a traditional Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde, with a little personal touch, I decided to check on the nutritional properties of these green veggies and I'm impressed. Collard greens are quite the food! They are among the richest in nutritive elements, filled with vitamin C, potassium, fiber, calcium, and folate. It's a power food! Now I wish I had planted more in the garden!

I thought in sharing with you this recipe that is so simple and so delicious! Now just so you know, I like to use my creativity in the kitchen, more than I like to follow a recipe. This version doesn't have any sausage and I didn't add any olive oil because I think it takes away from the wonderful flavors of the soup as is. So here it is, Caldo Verde a la Moi for 2 people.



2 potatoes
3 cloves of garlic.
Bunch of collard greens cut in Julienne (thin strips)
Water
Salt

Boil the water and salt. Add the potatoes and garlic and cook until very tender. Puree all with a hand blender and return to the stove. Add the collard greens and cook until they are done, being careful to stir the soup once in a while. 

And voila! Caldo Verde a la Moi. Very, very good, and packed with rich nutrition.



We added alphabet letters to make it a little more fun (kid friendly), and ate the soup while saying the name of birds with each letter we found.

Enjoy!

For a complete report on the nutritional value of collard greens you can check here.