Mixed Greens Braised in Bacon Drippings

EVERY YEAR WHEN I ARRIVE IN THE ROCKIES, I go through several weeks of altitude adjustment. It's not altitude sickness---which is different---but adjustment which entails going through body changes that build red blood cells to carry more oxygen from the thinner, higher atmosphere. There's no escaping this process, and, for me, it always requires patience.I simply don't have my normal amount of energy the first couple of weeks I'm here. I really try not to push myself too hard, sleeping longer and making myself drink more fluids.

One thing that helps this adjustment along is to eat lots of leafy greens which help to build hemoglobin in your blood.

So tonight I recalled an old recipe from my days of having a garden right outside my kitchen door: fresh greens lightly sauteed in bacon grease. Any excuse to cook bacon, I say! You can use the bacon later for BLT sandwiches, eggs and bacon breakfasts or by itself. But the important thing is to cook several slices, using the drippings for the greens after the bacon is cooling on the paper towel.

Tonight, I sauteed organic greens from Idaho and seasoned them with sea salt. They were spectacular. However, next time I'll squeeze some lemon juice (which I forgot to pick up at the store) over them and perhaps add a little garlic. Either way, I feel a large dose of red blood cells coming on! Then, it's onward to make an 8-hour sheet sandwich....but hold the bacon.