Thursday, March 24, 2011

Upland Cress- When You Just Need Something Green


   This weekend my mom mentioned to me that the lemons  in my previous post were very pretty, but she was a little tired of looking at them. I guess it has been a while since I last posted. Hopefully I'm over my late-winter slump and along with the promise of spring and warmer weather will come bounds of energy and inspiration. One inspiring thing that I did find this weekend were these gorgeous cresses.


     If you're from the south, you're probably no stranger to upland or field cress, sometimes known as "creasy greens."  A harbinger of spring, cress is usually one of the first things to appear in the garden. With rosettes of tender green leaves and a peppery flavor, I've always considered them a spring tonic. They are what first comes to mind when I'm craving something fresh and green this time of year! They're chock full of phytonutrients, have three times the vitamin C of oranges and twice as much vitamin A as broccoli!

    I cooked this "mess of greens" the good old southern way, which means I boiled them until tender with a ham hock in enough water to cover them, added a bit of salt and pepper, and served them with cornbread.  Since I had nearly a bushel of them, I also cooked some in an omelet, sauteed some with a little garlic and olive oil, and tossed some with some homemade pasta with a creamy ricotta sauce. The raw peppery leaves are also a great flavorful addition to a salad, as long as your cress is fresh and tender.

    I remember when I was young my dad would pick cresses in corn fields where they grew wild. With the advent of weed killers being used in corn fields though, wild cress has almost disappeared. Thankfully the seed is available and easily grown. I raided my brother's field for this beautiful basketful, but if you're not lucky enough to have a brother with a field of cress they will most likely be found in your early spring CSA box or at a local farmer's market. I hope you find some!

     This post is being shared with Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage.

Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

43 comments:

  1. Those greens look so vibrant and fresh!

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  2. Never heard of it before! Sounds like you enjoy it, glad you found some:@)

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  3. I have never heard of upland or field cress, but you sure tickled my interest. Love greens and are a must a our house. Wonder how spinach would work.
    Rita

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  4. Looks like watercress even though they are not the same. Have not tried this before. Sounds really interesting. I think that these should be really good stir-fried with lots of garlic. Will keep a lookout for these, as I would definitely love to try. Thank you for sharing. P/s ; Your mom is really funny! And cheeky! :)

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  5. looks so fresh and spring-like

    glad your out of your winter slump...i just got out of one myself

    happy to visit today

    kary and teddy
    xxx

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  6. Oh yes, pass a plate this way. I have never tried this before, but you have me intrigued

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  7. glad you are back! I have missed your posts!

    Can't wait for some more springy, fresh posts!

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  8. glad you're back;-)
    I love this field cress, just gorgeous and reminds me of Springtime;-)

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  9. I kept checking your blog for a new post : ) I've never had field cress before. I need to start trying new foods!

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  10. You could not have brought that mess of greens to a better place. Girl...I can't wait to pour that juice over my cornbread. I can just taste it now. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and please come back!

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  11. Love the harbingers of spring!!! I am learning to love greens after nearly 15 years in the South - this recipe sounds delicious! Glad to see a new post from you!!!

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  12. I could never tire of lemons since I love them sweet and savoury but I like greens too.

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  13. Mmm what a delicious way to cook them! I love the idea of cooking it with a bacon hock and then eating it with cornbread :D

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  14. I'm actually really beginning to like cress now, since they're served in my sandwiches at student job all the time :) I'd probably also try to stir fry them (being Chinese), I hope you will try that too with your abundance of cress! :)

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  15. I hope I find some too!! I could go for some today, but we're still in the thick of winter where I live (it's snowing as I speak). Have a great weekend! Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

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  16. Thanks for educating me about a new green and sharing your delicious photos, Betty!

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  17. I've never heard of cress before, but fresh and peppery sounds good to me! And once you get a ham hock involved, well, I'm all in. =)

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  18. I'm not familiar with this type of cress either...but boy does it have my mouth watering. Love your corn sticks, too. YUM!

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  19. Your mom knows how to remind you to update the things :-)))
    I love those watercress served with corn sticks.
    Have a great weekend!
    Angie

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  20. Your greens look fantastic and so nice to see you again, hope you are well and have a great weekend!

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  21. Your Mom is tired of looking at lemons and mine just came back from vacation asking me when I'm posting one of her favorite lemony desserts. LOL

    Greens, especially this variety, are extremely friendly to my liver...bring it on ;o)

    Betty, have a great weekend,
    Claudia

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  22. Oh girl- i am from the south and I miss me some greens. Haven't done them in a while because hubby (although from new orleans- clearly the south) doesn;t seem to care for them so much. Might have to make your version and see if I can change his mind! These look fantastic!

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  23. I've never eard of ypland cress, but I've never met a green I didn't like! These look yummy!

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  24. I've never had upland cress, but the color is striking and I'm most definitely intrigued. I will have to keep my eyes out for them when I hit the farmers market next.

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  25. I have never heard of that before, but I do love all types of green so it would be interesting to try it. How great to have a brother in law who will share them :)

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  26. Are you and I the only people left who use the expression "a mess of greens?" :)
    Oh yeah....greens and cornbread. I love field cress....but I loved those lemons too.

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  27. I've never heard of this. I'm assuming that while it looks like arugla is has more substance and needs long cooking to become tender. It's great that you can get seeds for. Better still that your brother is already growing it. I suspect I'd love it. Have a great evening. Blessings...Mary

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  28. I have never tried these leafy greens, but I certainly should :) Thanks for sharing with us!

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  29. I cannot believe that while I love to try new things and hard dishes too, I have never made my own lemon curd and I know that when I do I will kick myself. I even have some lemons, so maybe tomorrow will be the day as we are doing breakfast foods for dinner! I will, I will....!

    I have never heard of this cress. My parents used to pick wild water cress though!

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  30. With a colour like that, i can only imagine how healthy these cresses are! and of course there are so many ways to serve them. I think my fave would be to sautee them in garlic and olive oil!

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  31. Ha ha , ur mom is cuteee , super cute :-)
    bdw , is still love the lemons and definitely aint fed up of seeing them :-)
    I have never seen field cress and i doubt we would find it here so ur sure have my whole heart'd attention on learning something new and interesting...

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  32. Welcome back! Your post reminded me it's Spring (although it's freezing here in Toronto, Spring is taking it's time) and I so badly want one of those corn bread molds you have, lol. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

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  33. So glad to see your back and posting delicious things! Cress sounds like a perfect addition to spring salads, I love seeing posts about different veggies that I have never heard of. One of my favorite things is going to the farmers marked and buying strange (to me), previously unheard of (again to me) greens to try in my salads. Lovely post!

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  34. I have never tasted this green. I would love to try it. I love your memories and they way your prepared it:)

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  35. Cornbread and greens sounds so good right now. A big plate of Southern Comfort! Thank you for sharing with me. After a very long week, it is refreshing to return to the blogs/people that I love. Your words mean more to me than I can express. Many blessings this week!

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  36. Homegrown greens are always the best. I love the feeling of eating these healthy and delicious success.

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  37. Just like you, I think of greens as a "tonic"! Love, love, love them. Beautiful preparation!

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  38. never heard of this but it does look good. Love how u presented it.

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  39. Great post. I am unfamiliar with this green. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  40. Not something that I've had before, but I want to try it.
    Mimi

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  41. I've never had cress but it sounds delicious the way you prepared it. I love spinach, swiss chard and beet greens though so I'm sure I'd love this too! I'll have to look for it at the farmers' market when it opens.

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  42. How is it that I've never heard of cress? The way you talk about makes it sound good though.

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Thanks for stopping by scrambled hen fruit! I appreciate all of your comments and look forward to reading them.

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