Will's first basketball practice is tonight. You know how excited he is? He came home and immediately got to work on his homework. Practice is at 7:30, and he wants to be focused and not worrying about some stupid spelling test, thank you very much.
As I write, I have collards cooking on the stove. I didn't grow up eating greens, did you? We mostly had medleys of frozen mixed vegetables, the favorite being peas, tiny cubed carrot bits and corn. Oh, wasn't that a treat! My mom also enjoyed serving up a nice tasty dish of French green beans, with almonds when she was feeling fancy. I don't believe fresh broccoli had been invented in the 1970s.
We're growing collards in our garden. They are beautiful, sturdy plants that should last through our mild winter. To cook them, first you fry up some bacon. That's always the sign of a good recipe, when you start with bacon. Then you saute onions in the bacon grease--another good sign--add some chicken stock and peeled garlic, and then your chopped up collards.
Cook 'em for two hours--as I said, they're sturdy little suckers--and what you end up with is a symphony of flavors. Oh, my goodness, I forgot to mention the ham hock; you'll need to throw one of those in, too. This being the South, you can pick up a package at any grocery store, whether it's a bargain basement sort of joint or a high falutin' gourmet place.
Do the boys eat this delicacy? Of course they don't. But you know what that means? More for me and the Man. We don't mind a bit.
An Ex-Friend of a Friend
1 hour ago
9 comments:
YUM!! I'll be right over! It sounds delicious!!
Blessings!
Deborah
I never ate greens until we moved to Georgia. Now I'll eat collard greens and like them especially with pinto beans and corn bread.
Interesting!
I am having a bacon break. I got my fill of the smell which is so yummy in the morning and kind of lingering and weak in the afternoon.
Why don't you take some pictures of basketball practice?
I've never had collards. We had peas or beans, silverbeat (not a fave) and brussel sprouts as kids. The beans are the only one of those I still eat.
These days we have beans, broccoli, cabbage...tonight we're trying out fresh asparagus thanks to someone in Dh's men's bible study group.
I have cabbage like you have collards but mine is just bacon & spring onions (shallots) with lightly sauted cabbage.
what ARE collards? do they have a different name here? {I remember they ate them in To Kill A Mockingbird - and I wondered about them then]
I bet they go brilliantly with English [or Irish] sausages!!
We are growing collards too. I am not a fan of cooked greens, but hubby loves them! He would be drooling over your recipe!
How do you and The Man like use the tasty pot likker?
I hope Will enjoyed basketball practice.
No, I don't know what collards are either, but I'm jolly glad your boys don't like them; this makes me feel better about having had to confess that my boys don't eat yellow peppers in a conversation tonight about homemade pizza. They don't eat that either, but then we've never made it- ha ha, until tomorrow! You're now more than half-way through November- you are becoming part of my advent of advent!
Oh, yes, I grew up eating collard green and turnip greens, with ham, pintos, sliced tomatoes and onions and cornbread. Heaven.
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