De-Limpify Your Summer Greens

When I was in elementary school I was a big dork. I did science fair every year that I could until I figured it wasn't cool anymore which was probably Grade 6 when I was invited to have my project displayed at the High School next door. My 'Handwashing Kills Bacteria' was an enormous hit for teachers trying to teach disgusting teenagers to wash their filthy hands but It was a lesson in humiliation for a buck-toothed, floppy haired 6th grader dressed like a 40 year old Christian choir leader.

The project I remember most fondly was pretty darned cool (or more likely I was too young to realize what a dork I was becoming)* and I use this technique to 'spruce up' wilted, sad greens from the Farmer's Market. 

Does this happen to you? You've enjoyed  a leisurely Saturday morning with family or friends, walking to market, perusing the local bounty, sipping coffees downtown only to find depressingly limp greens in your shopping bag when you (finally) get home? 

Just chop the bottom with a knife, (a serrated one works well for woody stuff like bunches of oregano) and put your greens and herbs in glass jars or containers and leave them on the counter or in the fridge.  Never again will you have limp greens! It's science!! (which I think is just... Magic: Explained). It's like having a little counter top garden and the duck has fun picking herbs from it to add to her noodles and cheese.

Boo-urns

The (boo-urns) bok choy above has had the water evaporated from it's cells. The plant cells themselves get all limpy and kind of empty. Think of a garden hose that has no water in it, it is sort of like that. When you add the greens to water, the plant sucks up the moisture and the cells fill back up again and are firm and lovely. Just like your full hose. Tadaa! It's Magic!!

Tadaa!

*If you care: The project included celery with leaves on top that I dunked in water with food colouring, the celery used the coloured water for hydration and you could see the colouring in the celery. I think I used red and I remember that you could see where the celery plant sucked up the water, some ended up in the leaves too. It was pretty cool, well maybe it was.