Greens Galore

Greens are always good and so simple to make in an oven- or even a toaster oven- especially a toaster oven that can go to high heats because since it is so small- it almost acts as a broiler and an oven- the tops of the greens become charred and crispy while the bottom portion of the dish roasts nicely.

All you need is to toss lightly in a good oil like try walnut oil, or flaxseed oil, or even avocado oil- salt lightly, if desired, and add any other seasonings that you wish- lightly over top-
and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes on a heat of at least 350- ideally 400-

Now the Swiss Chard- which is what this picture is of- will have two different textures- the leaves and the stems- That is okay- they can cook at the same time- but they have completely different textures. If you like your stems more soft- then make sure they are up on top of the leaves- so they will receive the direct heat from the top of the oven- unless your oven is convection in which case- that will not work-

If you prefer your greens more soft, you can simply drizzle a bit of water- like 1/4 cup in with the greens- the water will heat up and evaporate creating steam- and this will wilt the greens more-

also, the way you chop the greens will affect the cook time- If you leave it in big sheets- it will not cook the same as if you chop it into bite sizes- because the surface area is different. Cutting through the fibrous leaves with a knife and tossing before cooking will greatly impact the quality of the dish after it is cooked. and its much easier to serve ready to go.

Different Greens cook differently- but they all SHRINK. So you can load up your pyrex dish- or aluminum pan with greens- it can be a big mountain of greens. NO problem. they will shrink in size.
the pieces that stick out the top will get charred and crispy from the oven heat. this adds dimension to the dish.

Don't overcook- and keep an eye on them so they don't burn . Yes- they go from perfect to burnt in just a few minutes once they reach their point of doneness. It varies slightly depending on whether it is kale or spinach or swiss chard, or bok choy- - I tend to feel that Kale has to go in the oven for the longest- but I tend to like my vegetables crisp, light, and airy.... not soggy and weighed down.

about 40 minutes is ideal-
if you are making Chips and using more oil- you need to be careful they don't burn.

happy greens!