My stepmother used to make collards that were incredibly delicious. I'd drive the almost 700 miles south to have them on Thanksgiving along with her from scratch biscuits.
My stepmother was a born-and-bred poor white Tarheel who made some of the best soul food (fried chicken, black-eyed peas, collards, and biscuits). Yet she still looked down on those folks of darker hues who cooked and ate the same foods.
I luuuuurve collards! They can be cooked many ways, all good. To my mind they are SOOOOOO much better than kale (bleh), and similarly nutritious. Here's one more recipe.
I'm from the deep south and love the assorted carnivorous versions (because pig makes everything better!), but here's a super simple vegan version that combines sautéing and boiling into a tasty and quick recipe:
Get one bunch or bag of collard greens. If a bunch, wash the leaves, lay them flat on top of each other, and roll them up. Then cut the rolled leaves into strips. I usually discard the thick lower stems, but keep the portion closer to the leaves.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil, some red pepper flakes, and some diced garlic to a pan. Heat on medium high until the pepper and garlic start to toast.
(I sometimes add a 1/2 or whole cup of chopped fresh onion at this point; if so, cook a couple minutes before proceeding.)
Add the collards. Stir and turn until the leaves are all covered in the oil, and the leaves and stems start to soften and darken just a bit.
You can add pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, other spices, or salt to taste. I also add a little (about 2 teaspoons) Dale's Steak Sauce (from Birmingham, AL, but sold nationally); you can also add soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce for a similar salty and umami taste.)
Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan in about 1/2 inch of water or a bit more, at least a full cup or more. Cover. Leave on low boil for 5 to 7 minutes. Make sure the water doesn't boil off, and stir once or twice.
Uncover. Let most of the remaining water boil off. Serve with pepper vinegar, added to taste (I prefer Trappey's or Louisiana brands, both sold nationally.)
Enjoy! You can also modify this recipe based upon the amount of collards you are cooking. After cooking, they also keep well in the fridge in a covered container, to enjoy as leftovers or to cook early before the rest of a meal. Just reheat in the microwave and enjoy!
A lot of my white relatives are also born-and-breds. It’s a mixed bag. Some are obviously racist. Some aren’t. And quite a few can actually cook. But there are still those ones who are afraid of flavor as well. And my neighbors are all mostly of that type. The relatives as well as the neighbors who are like that were all raised on farms, poor. It’s weird.
I have a vegan greens recipe (collards, mustards, and turnips) that uses applewood smoked salt and vegetable broth. It's largely the same as above, just without the meat: saute the onions (or shallots) and garlic, then add the greens and broth. The flavor is vegetal, but the salt adds a nice smoky flavor.
Ha ha but for serious:A decent marinade also gets rid of that tofu flavor (which doesn't taste like much imo, at least raw). If you really want to shake things up, freeze that tofu block before marinating. Changes the texture to something you can get your tooth into.
I am only repsonding to this because last week at the yearly pre-Thanksgiving dinner they are still dooing it as only takeout, where it is pre-prepared. Had some of the usual stuff, some I don't like (sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese),and then there was these greens that I had never seen and never tasted before.
Those were collard greens and there were GREAT! I had never had them before and I was surprised.And then I found out that they are related to kale, and though why do people eat kale when collard greeens are SO MUCH BETTER!
I'm a New Yorker through and through. NYC has always had some very good soul food joints, a very few decent southern joints & almost no good BBQ joints. If you like the cuisine (I do) & like to cook (ditto) you pretty much have to make it yourself. One thing I used to make (inspired by Sylvia's) was deep fried turkey wings. As easy to make as Buffalo wings, but at a fraction of the cost. Seriously, packs of chicken wings were > $10 in the supermarkets while the turkey wings right next to them were @ $1.50. Then someone told the white people about them. Goodbye turkey wings. Same thing with skirt steak. The only people who bought it apart from us were the Mexicans & Central Americans who got it for next to nothing at Western Beef markets in Queens. No Mas. Damn gringos. Have you seen the price of skirt steak today? Egads.
BTW, I'm white, but I've always been repulsed by generic American white people. And their lousy food. My Thanksgiving is all Native American recipes. They do wonderful things with turkey, spices & citrus marinades in the Yucatan. Fuck the pilgrims - happy Thanksgiving!
It was only recently that I found out that I'd been eating collard greens for years without knowing. Except they're a Kenyan dish known as Sukuma Wiki, best served with Ugali (white maize flour and water - sort of East African polenta).
It's more than my life is worth to share one of the missus' recipes, but you should get the gist here on Sukuma wikipedia.
My stepmother used to make collards that were incredibly delicious. I'd drive the almost 700 miles south to have them on Thanksgiving along with her from scratch biscuits.
And, knowing Kyrie, she'll do everything possible to escape from that light.
My stepmother was a born-and-bred poor white Tarheel who made some of the best soul food (fried chicken, black-eyed peas, collards, and biscuits). Yet she still looked down on those folks of darker hues who cooked and ate the same foods.
Even the man who's pure at heart and says his prayers by night...
I luuuuurve collards! They can be cooked many ways, all good. To my mind they are SOOOOOO much better than kale (bleh), and similarly nutritious. Here's one more recipe.
I'm from the deep south and love the assorted carnivorous versions (because pig makes everything better!), but here's a super simple vegan version that combines sautéing and boiling into a tasty and quick recipe:
Get one bunch or bag of collard greens. If a bunch, wash the leaves, lay them flat on top of each other, and roll them up. Then cut the rolled leaves into strips. I usually discard the thick lower stems, but keep the portion closer to the leaves.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil, some red pepper flakes, and some diced garlic to a pan. Heat on medium high until the pepper and garlic start to toast.
(I sometimes add a 1/2 or whole cup of chopped fresh onion at this point; if so, cook a couple minutes before proceeding.)
Add the collards. Stir and turn until the leaves are all covered in the oil, and the leaves and stems start to soften and darken just a bit.
You can add pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, other spices, or salt to taste. I also add a little (about 2 teaspoons) Dale's Steak Sauce (from Birmingham, AL, but sold nationally); you can also add soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce for a similar salty and umami taste.)
Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan in about 1/2 inch of water or a bit more, at least a full cup or more. Cover. Leave on low boil for 5 to 7 minutes. Make sure the water doesn't boil off, and stir once or twice.
Uncover. Let most of the remaining water boil off. Serve with pepper vinegar, added to taste (I prefer Trappey's or Louisiana brands, both sold nationally.)
Enjoy! You can also modify this recipe based upon the amount of collards you are cooking. After cooking, they also keep well in the fridge in a covered container, to enjoy as leftovers or to cook early before the rest of a meal. Just reheat in the microwave and enjoy!
Yes.
A lot of my white relatives are also born-and-breds. It’s a mixed bag. Some are obviously racist. Some aren’t. And quite a few can actually cook. But there are still those ones who are afraid of flavor as well. And my neighbors are all mostly of that type. The relatives as well as the neighbors who are like that were all raised on farms, poor. It’s weird.
I have a vegan greens recipe (collards, mustards, and turnips) that uses applewood smoked salt and vegetable broth. It's largely the same as above, just without the meat: saute the onions (or shallots) and garlic, then add the greens and broth. The flavor is vegetal, but the salt adds a nice smoky flavor.
There is nothing Americans will not deep fry.
The first (and only) time I had grits, I was told you had to put butter and syrup on it. I did. It tasted like butter and syrup.
Reminds me of helping my great grandmother shelling green beans and such when I was like 6-10, thanks for that...great memories
Not mentioned in this article: collards are also really easy to grow and will hold up late into the year.
Ha ha but for serious:A decent marinade also gets rid of that tofu flavor (which doesn't taste like much imo, at least raw). If you really want to shake things up, freeze that tofu block before marinating. Changes the texture to something you can get your tooth into.
I am only repsonding to this because last week at the yearly pre-Thanksgiving dinner they are still dooing it as only takeout, where it is pre-prepared. Had some of the usual stuff, some I don't like (sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese),and then there was these greens that I had never seen and never tasted before.
Those were collard greens and there were GREAT! I had never had them before and I was surprised.And then I found out that they are related to kale, and though why do people eat kale when collard greeens are SO MUCH BETTER!
I'm a New Yorker through and through. NYC has always had some very good soul food joints, a very few decent southern joints & almost no good BBQ joints. If you like the cuisine (I do) & like to cook (ditto) you pretty much have to make it yourself. One thing I used to make (inspired by Sylvia's) was deep fried turkey wings. As easy to make as Buffalo wings, but at a fraction of the cost. Seriously, packs of chicken wings were > $10 in the supermarkets while the turkey wings right next to them were @ $1.50. Then someone told the white people about them. Goodbye turkey wings. Same thing with skirt steak. The only people who bought it apart from us were the Mexicans & Central Americans who got it for next to nothing at Western Beef markets in Queens. No Mas. Damn gringos. Have you seen the price of skirt steak today? Egads.
BTW, I'm white, but I've always been repulsed by generic American white people. And their lousy food. My Thanksgiving is all Native American recipes. They do wonderful things with turkey, spices & citrus marinades in the Yucatan. Fuck the pilgrims - happy Thanksgiving!
It was only recently that I found out that I'd been eating collard greens for years without knowing. Except they're a Kenyan dish known as Sukuma Wiki, best served with Ugali (white maize flour and water - sort of East African polenta).
It's more than my life is worth to share one of the missus' recipes, but you should get the gist here on Sukuma wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...
https://uploads.disquscdn.c...