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Farm Kitchen:  how do you cook your greens  |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 06:01:11 AM
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Over Christmas dinner favorite son of my MIL got up and had to douse his collards in pickle juice because his mother's collards were bitter.
Hubby and I exchanged looks and had a discussion on the way home that has managed to baffle us even now.
We are the ones growing and supplying said collards. We have been consuming said collards and the way we cook OUR collards, they are so sweet, they require no doctoring at all! We just tear the leaves, boil in a little olive oil for a little under an hour and usually enjoy with rice or Quinoia. (we are untraditional ---the horror!!!)
So I'm a little confused.
Father of the family came by yesterday to pick more collards and I asked how mother prepares hers. At times she uses the requisit fatback, which makes for tasty,greasy and still bitter greens. Found out she does take out the main stalk prior to boiling them, but uses a hand chopper once they have boiled prior to serving.
Would chopping make them bitter????
So how do the rest of you make your greens? And are yours bitter? For all the years I have been married and living in the South i have never prepared a bitter green but have tasted my share of bitter greens from other people and from other reataurants.
And if bitter greens are the norm, I can see why some or most folks don't like collards.
p.s. When we took greens to my folks Christmas day (already pre cooked) they jumped at the chance and we ate just about every bite over dinner. MY family is from Cincinnati--so I find it super funny that this girl from the North can cook a pot 'o greens with pintos and corn bread smoother than a traditional mammy from the South -- oops!  |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 06:37:55 AM
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I LOVE collard greens. Turnip greens used to be my favorite but now collards are. When we would go to my hubby's mothers she would always have greens. She mixed her with mustard and poke greens in the spring and they were SO good. She always had to make them for me from them on. She just parboiled hers then rinsed and had a hot cast iron skillet with bacon grease she's put the rinsed greens in and cook for awhile til most of the liquid was gone. SSO good! I miss her greens. Mine never turn out like hers although that's how I do them.
With collards, I take out the big stalk and rip up. Sometimes I cut. I cook them with a piece of some type of pork and cook for a few hours. I like mine cooked. A friend up the road cooks her with onion and peppers and they are still kind of tough. I like mine soft. I could live on collards.
My mom cooked the greens for Christmas. She will be cooking greens from now on. They were amazingly good. Just had some bacon in them. But she washes her like 5 times.
My very favorite meal is pinto beans, mac and cheese and greens with cornbread.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
Edited by - kristin sherrill on Jan 07 2012 06:39:07 AM |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2875 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2875 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 09:01:07 AM
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I watch a show called Christina Cooks on the local PBS channel, (she is a vegan) & she said to always leave your greens whole when you cook, because the stalk & veins are what carries the nutrients & when you cut that your nutrients leach away into the water.
I, too, love greens, but prefer them without any meat, just sllightly boiled in water so they are still have some bite to them, & add a tad aof s & p, maybe. I can eat them plain; I love the taste. |
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Pasthyme
True Blue Farmgirl
99 Posts
Gail
Mountain View
AR
99 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 2:14:14 PM
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Here in Arkansas, our winter has been very mild so far. For lunch today I went into the garden and picked some spinach mustard, collards, and turnip greens. I use a small cast iron skillet and fry a tiny piece of bacon. Then I chop the greens and quick fry them. I like to add a little seasoned rice vinegar for a wonderful flavor. So nice to have fresh greens in the winter.
www.pasthymesfashions.webs.com
www.ozarkfolkcenter.com |
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sweettea
True Blue Farmgirl
55 Posts
Candace
St Cloud
MN
USA
55 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 4:26:10 PM
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I love greens. Part of our family originally came from Kentucky and greens are still served at our family gathering even though my segment of the family is now living in Minnesota. My favorite recipe for greens comes from a vegetarian cookbook. I'll post the recipe below in case anyone would like to try it.
Mixed greens
2 Tb. vegetable oil
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
3 pounds fresh greens, rinsed, stemmed, and coarsely chopped*
3 TB soy sauce
3 TB cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce or other hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
1/2 cup water, plus more if needed
salt to taste
*The recipe suggests trying 1 or 2 bunches of collard greens and 1 or 2 bunches of kale. I've mixed and matched depending on what I find prolific in my garden and what I have stored in our freezer.
In a large pot, heat the oil and saute the garlic on medium heat for just a minute to soften it. Add the damp greens, cover, and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, until the greens on the bottom begin to soften. Stir the greens until evenly coated with oil.
Add the soy sauce, vinegar, Tabasco sauce, and water. Stir the greens well and add more water, if needed. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and tasting to sample the texture. They're done when they are as soft as you like them. Add salt and more Tabasco sauce to taste.
Serves 4 to 6
We serve it with hot cornbread straight from the cast iron skillet. Oh, I think I need to head to the kitchen and cook up a mess of greens!
"There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2875 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2875 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 5:53:57 PM
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Candace
That sounds wonderful! I will definitiely try that one! |
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knead2garden
True Blue Farmgirl
359 Posts
Ashley
Spring City
TN
USA
359 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2012 : 07:25:35 AM
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I sauté one onion in olive oil and add a can of tomatoes (unless summer, then I use fresh). At the same time I boil my collards in a large stock pot just long enough to make them soft and reduce their size. After the collards are just right, I move them to the pan with tomatoes, add salt and pepper to taste and good for about 20 or so minutes. They are served with Braggs apple cider vinegar (I love that stuff!).
Mine are a little bitter, but not too bad. It's one of the flavors I enjoy.
Yours sound delish!
~Ashley
#1677
"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum |
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2012 : 12:38:44 PM
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I dont eat pork so I dont but any in my greens. I saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Then I put my cleaned greens in my pot and then a little ore olive oil and about 2 cups water. I cook until greens are tender. My daughter who loves pork loves my greens...without pork..lol
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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henlady35904
True Blue Farmgirl
295 Posts
Kim
Gadsden
Alabama
USA
295 Posts |
Posted - Jan 09 2012 : 07:05:57 AM
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Anna, I wash my greens like 10 times, pick through them, pull off any tough looking stems, parboil. Pour the juice off and fill pot just to cover wilted greens. Add s&p, pork if you like, or just canola oil. I like mine very cooked. (Southern) also, I add about a tsp sugar during cooking. After cooked, i chop them with a sharp knife add back to pot licker. Always delicious... as far as the pickle juice, we in the south pour hot pepper vinegar on ours.
Farmgirl Sister #2667 |
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nabrown42
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Nancy
Caneyville
KY
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Jan 10 2012 : 11:17:39 AM
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An Amish lady near us grows greens all year round for her little Country Store. I try to go there at least twice a week for the chard and kale. Last night we finished off a batch of kale. I initially steamed it and last night I quickly reheated the leftovers in olive oil and garlic. Yummm.
"I've wept in the night for the shortness of sight that to someone's needs I've been blind; but I've yet to feel a twinge of regret for being a little too kind." |
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DeborahLee
True Blue Farmgirl
85 Posts
Deborah
Starkville
Mississippi
USA
85 Posts |
Posted - Jan 10 2012 : 12:25:55 PM
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Traditionally, southern greens are cooked for quite a while and usually with some type of pork or smoked meat. My great aunt used to make the BEST collards; she passed away quite young and it took me years to figure out why hers had so much flavor and such a nice "shine" to them---she had to have been adding lard. If the collards are young, I don't chop or take the stalks out but for those big, tough winter leaves I will often take out the big center stalk and chop them up. Another common trick is to add a little sugar to the pot to counteract the bitterness. I like that bite that collards have---and I love a good dousing of hot pepper vinegar added afterwards, so I leave the sugar out!
A pot of collards is one of my favorite meals---growing up, my mom added any number of items to the pot to cook in the "pot liquor". Potatoes and corn meal dumplings were a must. If we had it available, we might also add some corn on the cob and even some whole okra. I love taking the meal out of the pot in layers and enjoying true comfort food!
Deborah
Professor, librarian, writer and farmgirl! |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jan 11 2012 : 03:58:54 AM
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| A frined suggested adding sugar too, so so long as we still have them in the field, like another month I';ll try this tonight! |
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soapmommy60543
True Blue Farmgirl
2197 Posts
Ann
Oswego
IL
USA
2197 Posts |
Posted - Jan 15 2012 : 04:28:59 AM
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The collard recipe I use came from a Vegetarian Times magazine a really long time ago. I never noticed a bitter taste, but maybe I wasn't paying attention.
1 bunch collard greens, chopped and stems removed
1 small head bok choy, stems and all, chopped (maybe that's what tempers the flavor?)
a few T's olive oil
chopped garlic to taste (I use the stuff from a jar, and I use a really good size spoonful because we love garlic)
juice of one lemon
about 1/2 c or less of water
In a saute pan, warm oil over medium heat. Add garlic, and warm until fragrant. Add water and greens, cover and let steam until wilted. Add lemon juice and let steam a minute or so more.
My kids ate tons of this when they were little. We used to look for collards that had leaves as big as their little heads at the store. That's one of the best ways to get your kids to eat their vegies! Now, I usually do chard. We like it better and it seems to grow better in our garden.
Wife of terrific hubby and mom to 2 kiddos, 2 bunnies, 2 geriatric goldfish, and the best dog in the world!
Check out my blog: http://www.suburbanprairiehomemaker.com
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GirlwithHook
True Blue Farmgirl
922 Posts
Alyce
Madison
WI
USA
922 Posts |
Posted - Jan 15 2012 : 09:57:00 AM
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Yum, Ashley, I'm going to have to try them that way! The Mister loves tomatoes, so I'm thinking this is a good way to sneak greens (other than iceberg lettuce) into his diet.
A hook, a book, and a good cup of coffee.... |
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Farm Kitchen: how do you cook your greens |
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how do you cook your greens
