What to do with the green tops from your veggies? I had greens leftover from my Curried Golden Beet Soup recipe last week and pondered how to use them up. Beet greens are pretty mild and I didn’t have a lot of them so I wanted to do something special. I used my new favorite trick of stuffing cornbread muffins with things to make a nice portable Southern treat.

This recipe makes greens that are tender and sweet with a subtle kick. A perfect compliment to the ol’ reliable corn muffin.

Southern Green Cornbread Cakes
Yield: 6 jumbo cakes or 12 regular sized cakes

For the cakes:
1/2 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup plain nondairy milk
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Energ-G egg replacer
2 1/2 Tbsp canola oil

For the greens:
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch of beet greens
1/3 cup water
2 tsp agave nectar
pinch crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Combine all cake ingredients and divide evenly among 6 large/Texas sized muffin cups or 12 regular sized cups.
In a cast iron skillet, cook onion, garlic and chopped beet stems for 3-4 minutes. Add chopped beet leaves and remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low, stirring occasionally, until greens are tender. Remove lid, increase heat and cook until most of the liquid is gone.
Divide greens evenly among the muffin cups, pressing down slightly into the cornbread batter.
Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin cups and serving.

Note: These freeze exceptionally well so they’re great for easy weekday side dishes or office lunches!