Garden Greens with Garlic

This is not really a recipe. It is a technique, a habit, a way of eating that follows you home from the farmers market with whatever greens looked best that morning.

Some weeks it is chard with those ruby stems. Other weeks, a bundle of Tuscan kale so dark it is almost black. Sometimes the farmer has escarole, slightly bitter and sturdy. Or spinach so tender it wilts the moment it touches heat. The greens change. The method stays the same.

Good olive oil, sliced garlic cooked until fragrant but not brown, then the greens, turned and wilted until they surrender but still have color and life. A pinch of salt. A squeeze of lemon. That is all. The technique gets out of the way so the greens can taste of what they are.

Every meal is a meaningful choice. When you buy greens from someone who grew them, washed the soil from the roots, and drove them to market before dawn, you are keeping that farm alive. The greens taste better for it. Connection is a seasoning you cannot buy.