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I’m just gonna say it. I don’t like salad. Well no, it’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that for me, it’s probably the easiest meal to get sick of and it happens at lightning speed. The problem is that every now and then I’ll crave one (usually after a weekend of eating

junk) but it’s hard to buy ingredients for just ONE salad. Alas, I am a waster of greens, which is another struggle because I hate wasting food. Lucky for me, and for anybody else who tosses head after head of lettuce or bag after bag of mixed greens, there are several ways to use up your rejected salad materials. It’s simple really … cook em!

I know that may seem pretty obvious for certain greens, like spinach, but it’s less obvious for things like arugula and lettuce!

You see “wilted” greens on restaurant menus all the time but I’m talking sautéed, stir fried, and turned into soup.

I had purchased arugula to make a summer salad recently but since I was mixing it with tons of other greens, I didn’t use a whole lot of it. Arugula has its own unique kick to it – it’s almost peppery in flavor – and so while I like the flavor it brings to a salad, I don’t like it on its own all that much because it’s a little over powering (in my opinion). That same week, I was in need of a veggie side for a chicken dish I was preparing but since I hadn’t been to the grocery store, my refrigerator was lacking to say the least. I had been hoping to sauté some spinach with garlic and olive oil but instead found myself holding up the leftover arugula.

“Might as well give it a shot,” I thought as I added it to my pan.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Like spinach, arugula cooks down a ton
2. Arugula is amazing when prepared this way because while it soaks up the flavor of olive oil and garlic (I have also since done this with chicken stock instead of olive oil and it’s equally as tasty), it also holds on to its peppery kick.

It was this experience that led me to Pinterest to search for other ways to cook salad greens. That’s where I found these recipes for stir fried garlic lettuce and lettuce soup. I have yet to try either one but hey, why not? I’m especially excited to try the stir fried garlic lettuce because honestly, it just looks amazing and as soon as somebody mentions garlic, I’m sold.

So what do you think? Would you try cooking your greens in a new way before letting them go to waste?

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

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