Lentils and Collard Greens

This year, I've been trying something new - a CSA share full of veggies and such. More on that later - but one issue I've had is how to use up some of the awesome greens I've gotten. Example one - collard greens. I've never cooked with collard greens before and the few experiments I did with the first batch weren't all that tasty. Then a coworker suggested steaming them overnight with bacon - getting the flavor of the bacon and softening the greens to point they could be eaten. Now, I didn't see the point of just cooking the collard greens if I could make a full meal with little fuss. Hence the lentils. Cooking is an inexact experiment and art form in my house, so this is more of a guideline then a recipe. I was also trying to use up a few of the items from my box besides the collard greens...

In a slow cooker or crockpot, combine:

- about 1.5-2 cups of lentils

- six (or more - depending on how meaty you want it) slices of uncooked bacon, chopped into small pieces

- 5 cups water

Salt, chipolte pepper, tumaric, and other seasonings

Cook the lentils and bacon overnight on low. 

The next morning, give the lentils a stir and add:

- two bunches of collard greens, washed and chopped - you can use more or less depending on how much you have to use

- two leeks (or other onion like green), chopped

- one garden onion, chopped

- bulb and greens of fennel, chopped,

- 1 cup chopped parsley

-  a few garlic scapes chopped fine (just found out what they were!)

- clove or two of garlic, chopped

- another 1-2 cups of water. 

Garlic scapes -who knew? Learning about some interesting things with my box...

Turn cooker up to high and bring to boil while getting ready for work. Turn it back down to low, give it another stir and add 1-2 cups of wild rice, depending on how much liquid you added earlier. Cook for the rest of the day. The lentils will get nice and soft, the collard greens palatable and the rice will absorb the water, while making a complete protein for the dish. Like I said before, cooking is an experiment in my house - feel free to make any modifications you want or add different spices. Carrots near the end stage of cooking would be yummy. I also used some fresh basil this time .