chalkboard vegetable charts

braised greens + cauliflower oh my!

Tomorrow marks WHAT GOES WITH WHAT’s one month birthday*. I am so grateful for all of your incredible support and love you’ve shown me and the book.

WGWW on the GMA billboard in Times Square…life is wild!

*…does anyone else feel like October 15th was about a decade ago?!

If you haven’t already gotten your copy or are thinking of getting a signed copy for a holiday gift for someone you love, remember you can get signed + personalized copies from my local independent bookstore, Oblong Books. Makes for a wonderful holiday gift! If you want your signed copy to arrive in time for Christmas, please order by December 5th. Just click here:

You can also order copies anywhere you get books!

If you’re looking for another way to support the book (hey, thanks!) and want to be a real mensch: please leave a kind review for the book over on Amazon (because that’s where most people search for books)…but then go ahead and buy from indie bookstores because they are the beating hearts of our communities.

Okay, onto charts! Today I wanted to share two recent chalkboard charts I made for my pals over at Long Season Farm (LSF is where I worked in 2021 and still help out/hang out at all of the time).

Pretty much every week I write chalkboard signs for their markets and it’s a weekly task I look forward to so much. In addition to inventory/price signs, I always do a “suggestion” board which is a place to put ideas and tips for either an item they have an abundance of and/or an underrated vegetable.

Lately I’ve been taking the chart form you all know and love from this newsletter and WHAT GOES WHAT WHAT and applying it to their suggestion board.

A few weeks ago I did one for their braising green mix, which is bagged mix they make that includes smaller leaves of all of their cooking greens (kales, dandelion, chard, collards, sometimes a little cabbage or escarole, etc.). It’s all mixed and washed and ready to go for their customers. I love it because instead of choosing one type of green, you get a veritable smörgåsbord, plus you don’t have to stem, chop, or wash anything.

If you live in the area and have access to the Kingston Farmers Market on Saturdays, the Beacon Farmers Market on Sundays, or the Ellenville Farmers Market on Wednesdays, by all means pick up a bag of braising greens from LSF! But if you’re not in the area, which I assume is most of you, the below chart applies to any and all cooking greens, whether a single type, and whether fresh or frozen. I’m talking kale, spinach, collards, chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, etc.

Okay, without further ado, today’s first chart!

CHART #1: BRAISING GREENS (OR ANY COOKING GREENS)

As you can see, the formula I think is best for making great greens is to sauté some kind-of aromatic allium in a little fat (scallions or garlic in olive oil, etc.), then add the greens and a splash of liquid (anything from water to broth or wine, etc.) to help them not only sauté in the fat but also steam a bit and soften. Of course season to taste with salt and pepper. Then be sure to top the greens with something fun and punchy to really complete the dish. A little cheese. Toasted sesame seeds. Thinly sliced scallions. Etc.

For cleaning greens ahead of cooking, check out this old post:

---

And now for chart #2: CAULIFLOWER!

LSF’s cauliflower crop has been so incredible this season. See below for a truly stunning example with my hand for scale (granted I have very small hands, but still).

As you can see in the chart above, the possibilities for cauliflower are pretty limitless. You can cook it using so many different methods (steam, sauté, fry, air-fry, roast, etc.). While it’s perfect just roasted when first tossed with olive oil and salt, it’s an excellent canvas for so many flavors from hot sauce + butter to tahini sauce. Cauliflower! You can take it everywhere!

all right friends - thanks for being here. you all are the best and you’re doing great out there. xooxox julia