Photo by Jason Taylor

I have just returned from a lovely two weeks relaxing, and of course cooking, with family and friends at a couple of cottages.  One day we left Horseshoe Island to check out the local farmer’s market.  Strolling through the predominantly caucasian market we came upon an elderly Chinese women and her daughter selling mom’s garden harvest of Chinese chives and greens.  I inquired about the red-purple and green amaranth and the daughter responded that she had no idea what it was but translated her mother’s directions on how to cook it. I was amused by her response but was slow in asking for a bunch as the last couple were snapped up by other eager cooks, and so I left empty handed. Later that afternoon my friend’s sister-in-law returned from her shopping with what she described as beautiful ‘red kale’ and asked me how we could prepare it.  She had already decided to give our meal a Mediterranean theme so I taught her a quick Italian recipe with the rainbow swiss chard, not kale as she had thought.

While preparing dinner together I shared with her my amaranth market story and also how during the winter and monsoon seasons the wet markets of South India offer a similar variety of bright leafy greens (of which the above picture, by Jason Taylor, shows a Konkani woman shopping in the Karwar market).  She was curious to hear that South Indian cooks enjoy adding green and red amaranth leaves to soups, dals, or even making fresh chutneys out of them.  My market experience demonstrated that increasingly amaranth leaves are being grown and sold at farmer’s markets because they grow easily, are hardy and highly nutritious but cooks are unsure of how to prepare them.  I told my cooking companion that if they are unavailable beet greens, swiss chard or spinach are wonderful substitutes.  Excited to learn more recipes with leafy greens I promised to share with her a quick Indian dish which highlights their freshness. So here it is my new friend- something that Marty definitely cannot do!