I’ve occasionally had preparations where they were a bit “tobacco-y.” Mostly from Chinese restaurants that may have been using heavily braised older leaves. But I’ll say when that flavor becomes a little too prominent it’s okayish, but not awesome in my books.
Cooked collard greens.
Same, love them all.
Cabbage does bad things to me so I avoid it now. But I love it.
I eat kale or spinach nearly everyday.
We’re having turnip greens tonight.
Cabbage, preferably raw, but also with noodles and butter.
No love for leek?
Peas.
you can get canned mustard greens and others (Glory brand, for one) at most supermarkets
Oh, I love peas. Husband won’t eat those either.
As in most things, freshness matters. Anything leafy green coming in fresh from my Mother-in-law’s garden is pretty darn good, especially the spinach and fresh lettuce, elevated to heavenly when there’s fresh radishes (sliced thin) from the same source as a spicy addition.
From what I see at the stores, sadly, it’s a lot more about cost and application. Spinach is a dependable, bulletproof option most of the time (preferred option is half-wilted in a hot skillet or made into a huge batch of spinach saag), and a lot of romaine hearts for a crunchy, fiber-filled replacement for more carb-heavy wrap options.
I love artichokes and asparagus, and enjoy roasted or sauteed broccoli but quality can be so hit or miss as to be a gamble (and not sure they’d be leafy greens).
If I had to pick it would be spinach since it is very versatile. It’s bland enough that I can use it as a base for a salad but flavorful enough that I can mix it into a fried meat dish.
I too was wondering if broccoli would count as a leafy green, but they are bitter enough that I don’t like a lot of it in salad and only thoroughly enjoy it when it is small subset of a fried dish as a whole. (Or a piece or two in a tempura selection).
I love baby spinach and cucumber smoothies.
Add pineapple and banana a little ice. Maybe plain Greek yogurt. A couple green marischino cherrys. Really makes it vibrant.
Good stuff.
My grand-wreks yuck me out the back door. They can’t believe I drink such a green thing.
I like peas. Ideally fresh in the pod and purchased from a farm stand or farmer’s market, where I can remove them from the pod and eat a few raw while putting the rest in the pot; but I’ll take them any way I can get them.
Broccoli too. It can be cooked, but raw broccoli with ranch dip can be a tasty snack.
I still laugh when I remember trying raw broccoli for the first time, when my college dormitory served it. I was STUNNED - I had no idea it was edible raw. My mother served a fair amount of broccoli while I was growing up, but it was always well-cooked.
It’s kind of my fault many of us have assumed the OP was referring only to leafy greens - the OP didn’t say so, I just assumed it for some reason when I gave the first response. Maybe that was correct or maybe I was wrong.
Going beyond the leafy stuff, I’m not sure there is a green vegetable I dislike. Peas, broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, string beans, zucchini (well, the outside is green!) - all good.
ETA: hmm, not a huge fan of bitter melon. Though it’s okay if paired with the right ingredients.
It’s funny. When folks say “green vegetables”, they could be referring to any of those. But when they say “greens”, they usually mean leaf vegetables.
But yeah, there are very few vegetables that I dislike. Though asparagus is one of them.
Good point! Although I have a cookbook called “Greene on Greens” (by the late great Bert Greene) and he includes all kinds of vegetables, even some that aren’t green in color.
No, you were correct, they did quite clearly. Or at least, I didn’t think of any other way to read it.
A lot of veggies can be eaten raw. My Mom was no great shakes in the kitchen, but she did encourage us kids, when we were asking for a snack, to eat some raw veggies. Celery, carrots, radishes, broccoli, peas in the pod—all were tasty and healthy snacks; better, in Mom’s view, than potato chips and cookies. Veggies can be cooked, but they don’t have to be.
Brussels sprouts. Here’s where Mom fell down. They were always frozen in her kitchen, and I remember her putting the frozen block of sprouts in a pot of boiling water, boiling the hell out of them, then serving them with dinner and wondering why my sister and I hated them. Bitter, awful things they were.
Go forward many years. I married a girl who loved Brussels sprouts. But she disdained the frozen ones, in favour of fresh. Then she did something to them. I’m unsure what, except it involved oil, possibly garlic, and seasonings. And to my surprise, those sprouts were delicious.
Ah, yes … when I went back, I only looked at the thread title, not the text in the post, which I had read before I responded. D’oh!
It’s very hard to think of any vegetable I don’t like, but this thread is about green leafy vegetables, so I’ll confine my comments to those.
Love 'em all, but spinach is the lifelong favorite. I always loved it, even as a kid. My mother served the frozen variety and that was ok, but once I discovered the fresh stuff, I never looked back. There is always a pound of fresh spinach in my house. It’s great for breakfast or dinner (probably lunch, too, but I don’t eat lunch). Steamed, sauteed, creamed, added to an omelet or a frittata, in a Joe’s Special scramble, in salads, spinach always has a place at my table.
I suffer from the devils of self-doubting hindsight myself, and we all get caught by it from time to time!