We Grow Together, an organization that describes itself as “a group of community members committed to supporting healthy regional food systems in the Ark-La-Tex,” will host the inaugural Greens on the Red at Highland Community Garden, 520 Herndon St., 2-4 p.m., Sunday, March 16. The event will include opportunities to taste and learn about 18 varieties of healthy greens that are grown locally, including turnip greens, grape leaves, mustard greens, Chinese cabbage (bok choi), Swiss chard and more. Greens on the Red is free to attend.
If we can just get a cornbread festival to take place concurrently, that will make for a glorious weekend.
“Greens grow so easily here, you can literally throw some seeds in your back yard and they’ll grow,” said Angie White, chairwoman of Slow Food North Louisiana. White will be presenting a cooking demonstration featuring gumbo z’herbes, a vegetarian gumbo made with lots of greens, during the event. “We’re doing this event in Shreveport-Bossier because this could be the ‘greens capital.’ All greens can grow here during their appropriate season.”
For food-loving parents, this sounds like a great opportunity to introduce greens to kids in a context that’s more fun than a stare-down at the dinner table. And for the greens-adverse, White sees this as an opportunity to see – and taste – what you’ve been missing.
“A lot of people probably don’t think about greens at all, and those that do probably make a face,” White said. “But when you convert someone to being a fan of greens, they go from saying ‘ick’ to becoming super-passionate about greens.”
For up-to-date information on this event as it becomes available, RSVP to the event on Facebook. For more information on We Grow Together, visit their website.
Post photo: Collard greens from Allen’s Grill in Shreveport.
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