2 make-it-up-as-I-go mustard green recipes

I'm a mustard green virgin. Never eaten it. Never cooked it. I've been desperately trying to save money on food by using only the ingredients I already have in my kitchen.  I had 2 big bunches of mustard greens from the Farm-to-Work program that I needed to use, plenty of spices and a bunch of random canned food items. 

I refuse to cook mustard greens with just bacon fat, so I made up 2 dishes that turned out to be quite tasty. 

Spicy curried chickpeas with mustard greens

1 bunch mustard greens, chopped about 1-2 inches
1 can chickpeas, strained
3 tblspn. tomato sauce (or 1-2 tblspn tomato paste)
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tblspn. olive oil
1-2 fresh Thai chili peppers (or substitute chili powder/flakes)
1 tblspn. Sambar curry powder (the Indian girl left this package so I decided to use it!)
1 tblspn. yellow curry powder (basically, use whatever yummy spices you have)
1 tblspn. cumin powder
1 tspn. coriandor powder
salt and pepper to taste

Dice the onion and garlic and sautee in the olive oil.  Then add in your chickpeas, tomato sauce, and spices. Add a little bit of water if needed (about 1/3 cup), especially if you're using the tomato paste.  Then add in your mustard greens and let all this simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Season to taste and you're done.

I always like to have a soup whenever possible.  So what better than to make a soup out of my second batch of mustard greens? 

Mustard green and tofu soup

1 bunch mustard greens

About 2 qts. vegetable/chicken stock or 1 bouillon cube with 2 quarts water (about a medium size pot)

1 small onion

2-3 cloves garlic

Tofu (or your choice of protein)

1 tblspn. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste.

Dice your onion and garlic and sautee in olive oil.  Add your vegetable/chicken stock or water with a vegetable/chicken bouillon cube.  Bring to a boil and then add your chopped mustard greens and tofu.  Let simmer for about 5 minutes and that's it. Enjoy with a steaming bowl of Jasmine rice. The bitterness of the mustard greens makes a great soup!!

iphone photo courtesy of Christopher Sharpe. He can tell you how yummy it was too!