Showing posts with label collards. Show all posts

Collards - A Witch's View

I find myself in a conundrum. I worry about people I see online as well as friends and family.  I see their food choices and think, you're killing yourself.  I have a cousin who has a morbidly obese spouse and children who are obese, yet I see shares of food that are just killing them.  Literally.

So what do you do?  In this day and age, we cannot tell a fat person they are hurting themselves without it being called body shaming.  I'm not sure what the right answer is.  On one hand I want to help them and on the other, I don't want to hurt their feelings or be called a bully.  So instead, I'll just share one of my favorite recipes for Collards with you.


I get my collards in bunches on the stalks.  Collards hold sand like you would not believe so you're going to want to wash them really well.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson



Start by cutting the stalks off then ends and discard.


Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
 Use a paring knife to remove the stems from the center of the leaf.
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
 I remove them like so.
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
Next put them in a sink full of water and wash them really well.  The sand should sink to the bottom.
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
 Collards are always better after they have been exposed to at least one frost.  To ensure that I can cut the bitterness from them I put them in a bag and poss them in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
 After the "frost" I take them and put them in a pot with the onion that I have diced and allowed to cook a bit with a little vegan butter.
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson


 I have tried a few different types of veggie broth, my two favorites are Emeril's (which I don't think is on the market any more) and Swanson.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
 Cook the collards on medium/low heat until they are tender.  You can test them by taking a bit out to taste them.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
 I then drain the collards a lot.  Mash the moisture out of them and then serve with a splash of apple cider vinegar.

Photo Credit - Elijah Olson

I hope you find this recipe helpful.  They were really yummy on this icy cold day we had today.  I took a few photos.


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


Meatless Monday - New Year's Black-eyed Peas


In preparation for a prosperous new year tonight I’ll be making a traditional southern dish.  First thought of as a dish for livestock or a dish for the poor, Black-eyed peas is seen as a dish for luck into the New Year.
Served with collard greens or with cornbread, it’s thought that the origin of eating black-eyed peas for luck comes from the Civil War. 

After hubby and I moved here from California we were invited to my Grandma’s house for Black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day.  She proceeded to tell him all about how you would get one penny for every pea you ate.  From that day till this we eat them every New Year’s day.

You don’t have to limit this great legume to only a holiday meal.  Black-eyed peas are low in fat, low in sodium and have no cholesterol.  They are very high in iron, fiber and potassium.  ½ cup serving has as much protein as one ounce of lean meat.




Ingredients
½ bag of black-eyed peas
1 small onion
1 containers of vegetarian vegetable broth (I make the distinction here because they do have veggie broth that contains animal products so check your label to confirm)

*NOTE* Soak the peas for about 2 hours in water before starting them to cook


Now on to the recipe!
Finely dice 1 medium onion
Add 2 tbsps. butter to a large sauce pan on medium heat
Add the onions to the melted butter and sauté
When onions are clear strain the water out of the peas and add them to the pot
Add 1 container of Vegetarian vegetable broth
Add about 3 – 4 cups of water – to fill the pot bring to a boil
Cook until tender
Salt and Pepper to taste
Serve


Some people serve these as I mentioned previously with collard greens or corn bread. 

Wishing all of you a joyous and prosperous new year!
Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(

Meatless Monday – Collard Greens

Every southern knows you cannot have a holiday meal or get together without this awesome dish.  Collards are a leafy plant in the same family as cabbage and broccoli.  They are usually cooked with pork fat.  My grandma made them with something called “strick of lean, strick of fat” also known as pork belly.  Many people believe that you cannot cook a decent post of collard greens without the meat, however I can honestly say that these are the best collard greens I've ever had.

Here are your ingredients.

One half of a large white onion
Two bunches of collard greens
Water
Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Apple Cider Vinegar

Just a quick note:
The first thing I do is buy the collards on the day before I want to cook them.  That way they’re fresh and I have time to toss them in the freezer.  Collards can be bitter if you eat them before the first frost of the season.  Because many of our veggies are not being grown traditionally and most are in hot houses and so on, I like to toss my collard greens in the freezer.  This can be done overnight or even just for a few hours.  You’ll need to be careful here because the collard greens will get very brittle.  If you drop them on the floor you’ll be finding shattered collards around the kitchen for days.


Now on to the process…

Dice ½ of a white onion


Photo Credit - Renee Olson

Melt about 3 tablespoons of butter in a pot large enough for your collards


Photo Credit - Renee Olson

Add the onions to the pot and lightly sauté
Remove the collards from the freezer and break off the larger stems

Photo Credit - Renee Olson

Add to the pot
Add enough water to the pot to cover the collard greens
Allow to softly boil until tender

Photo Credit - Renee Olson

Drain off all the water; I literally squeeze the moisture out of them
Chop finely

Photo Credit - Renee Olson

At this point you can add salt and pepper to taste.  Some people add other things like hot sauce.  I add a capful of apple cider vinegar after I've plated mine. 

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


That’s all there is to it.  I've found that a sweet onion can be the vegetarians best friend.

What traditional “meated” food have you turned into vegetarian?  Love to hear your feedback!

Namaste and Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(