Collards

I purchased these beauties at the Raleigh Farmers Market. If you've never made collards before, it's pretty easy to do. For those who have been making collards for years, skip this post, yours probably taste fantastic and you don't need to do anything different.

Start by washing your collards. They are usually really clean when you purchase them, I remember when my grandmother had to wash them several times with plenty of changes of water because they were so sandy. Even if they are clean give them a good rinse, if you are buying them already pre-chopped and bagged from the grocery store you can skip this and the next few steps.

Remove the stem and spine from each leaf.

Stack several leaves and roll tightly from the stem end

Slice the roll and you will get collard ribbons, it is quicker to just chop them but this is how I grew up eating them and I prefer them this way. I think they look pretty this way and have a better mouth feel and texture when eating.

Melt a couple of tablespoons of fat in a stock pot, I've used bacon grease, olive oil in a pinch and coconut oil. Here I'm using coconut oil, my grandmother used fat back, I have no problem with the idea, I've just never cooked with fat back before and am not sure how to go about it.

 

Slice a large onion and sauté until tender.

Place your collards on top of the onions and add your seasonings. This is one large bundle of greens, it filled 3/4 of the pot. Add sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic powder. Include 4 cups of water. I do not like to add too much water, my grandmother used much more but I prefer for them to steam more than boil.

Once the water is boiling, place the lid on and lower the heat to medium, cook for 40 min until the greens are tender.

Yum!

Gazpacho Recipe

Gazpacho is a cold, raw and very refreshing vegetable soup, there is not a single standard recipe. In Spain each village or even home has their own version.

This is my recipe, it is mostly but not totally raw:

1 clove of garlic

1 cucumber (peel, remove the seeds and then chop)

1 large tomato (cored and chopped)

2 ears of fresh corn (cut the kernals off, you can use canned corn but fresh is much better)

1 onion (chopped)

1 jalapeno (minced, use as much or little as you like it depends on how spicey you like your soup.  Remember to be careful when handling jalapenos, wear gloves when handling to avoid burns and don't use the seeds unless you like it really hot)

2 lemons (juiced)

1 bottle of tomato juice

1/2 jar of roasted red bell pepper (chopped)

5 oz jar of slice green olives with pimento

Olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Peel your garlic clove, slice it in half and rub the cut sides of both halves on the inside of the bowl you will be using to hold your soup. You will get the flavor of the garlic without it being too overwhelming.

Add the next 9 ingredients to the bowl and mix.

Drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste and stir again.

Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.


Click Here for the video directions