Many vegetables at the Farmers Market — even many supermarkets — come with greens attached. We haven’t discovered a good use for carrot tops; throw those in the compost, or better yet, have your vegetable guy top them for you, then you don’t have to carry them home. But turnip and beet greens are often beautiful, oh so edible and easy to prepare. The thing is, they don’t keep very long; so what to do?

Here’s what I do.

First, the turnips and turnip greens…

Cut and wash the greens, cut up a couple of turnips. These are the little Tokyo turnips, you don’t even have to peel them.

Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan, add the turnips and greens… add a splash of water and cover. After a couple of minutes, give the greens a stir and season with salt and pepper. Cover and continue cooking for about 5 minutes total.

Uncover, splash with your choice of vinegar. Serve. That’s lunch — or at least the first course.

Now, for the beet greens. This will sound a lot like the turnips.

Thoroughly wash the greens. Put; them in a big bowl of water, swoosh them around, take the greens out one by one, leaving any dirt behind. Put them in a strainer and rinse again with cold water.

Dice the stems and roughly chop the greens.

Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan, add the stems and cook for about a minute. Add the greens.. add a splash of water and cover. After a couple of minutes, give the greens a stir and season with salt and pepper. Cover and continue cooking for about 5 minutes total.

Uncover, splash with your choice of vinegar and taste to see if they’re tender.

Now, you can eat them if you’re hungry, or put them in a jar to store in the refrigerator until you need a side dish.