1. I'm not good at making side dishes. I do good enough to get the main course on the table.
2. I've never cooked collard greens before....I don't know how.
3. And most importantly....YUCK!!...right? I remember my mom and grandmother cooking these over the years and it was the stuff I either chose not to put on my plate or refused to eat it if it ended up there.
Well, it's time to turn over a new leaf (or green if you will). So the first thing I did was call Me-Maw to ask her how she cooked such good greens. I caught her at the perfect time because her sister, Joy, was there visiting.
Now picture a southern, feisty, tough-as-nails, yet very sweet lady and that's Aunt Joy. She is also known for her mouth-watering cooking so Me-Maw gave her the phone and I naively asked, "How do I make these greens Aunt Joy?" She replies, "Well, baby, they already made...you just got to cook 'em." I hear Me-Maw giggling in the background. I laughed too because I love it when my Me-Maw giggles. She looses her breath and can hardly stand it.
Anyway, I digress. She told me the best way to cook them and, surprisingly, they turned out great and so much better than I remember.
First, you "get your water ready." I put onion, sweet green pepper, bacon (I cooked it and added it later), a little bit of sugar, crushed red pepper, and a pork hock in 2 cups of water and brought it to a boil. Aunt Joy said, "Don't add a lot of water because that's what you'll end up with...just a pot of water! Then after you have washed and cut up your greens, add them to your pot, reduce the heat, cover, and let it simmer for about an hour.
This is what they look like after that....mmmmm!
I served them with Mom's meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
Hannah even liked them!
No comments:
Post a Comment