Check out my progress on An Afternoon with Collards
Today at work, my big assignment was to wash, de-stem, and cut up a couple pounds’ worth of collard greens. Just another day at the office, my friends.
I’ll never forget my first experience with these strange leafy beasts. Like most Southern foods, collard greens are a food that I experienced for the first time in the school cafeteria—my Yankee-born mother never prepared them, both out of a lack of familiarity with them as well as a strong aversion to any green with more bite than baby spinach. Anyway, I remember seeing those neat rows of little custard dishes filled with some sort of green, stringy mess along the lunchline counter. Although I had no idea as to the contents of the dishes, I also noticed that several of my classmates hungrily snatched them onto their trays.
I thought to myself, “Hmm, that stuff must be good!” And what do you know? They were good—warm and soft, with a pleasantly salty tang. Yum.
I’ve never been able to quite replicate the taste of the collards prepared by the lunchlady, but my work assignment today has inspired me to get busy in the kitchen with this unique produce item. After all, collards are in season here in North Carolina right now, and they boast some pretty impressive nutritional stats—high in vitamins A, K, and C, plus they’re a source of calcium for vegans.
What’s your favorite collard greens recipe? Inspire me!
Amidst dreaming of collards-centric dishes, I did manage to eat a few meals today…
I recently discovered a long-neglected container of pistachios in my cabinet. They make a lovely salty addition to morning oatmeal.
For lunch, I packed a simple egg white salad sandwich with fresh chives. Is it weird that I used vegan mayo to make egg salad? Whatever, I don’t care—it tasted damn delicious.
Once home from class, I made a simple salad in which delicata squash was the star.
Alright, I have a presentation tomorrow for which I need to prepare. Wish me luck!
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
oh my, you just reminded me of my first experience with collard greens. i was on my alternative spring break trip, working on an organic farm when i first tasted its unique flavor and texture. ahh those were the days.
I have been eating kale and spinach like tomorrow never comes and they make me feel SO GOOD! So I decided to branch out….bought me some collards and so far I have been steaming them in Braggs amino with some onions, adding them to soups, and also adding them into my omellets. So eager to see what you and your genius self can do with them…I have been looking at recipes and two popular themes seem to be apple cider vingegar and brown sugar…so also maybe balsamic and carmelized shallots or maybe a ginger sesame sort o creation…? You’ll probably beat me to the experiments, but I am so with you on this … they are SUPER FOODS!
my favorite way to prepare collard is sauteed with garlic and touch of soy sauce!
My mom is also a yankee, so I don’t think she made us collards very often (although she knows her way with other Southern dishes to some degree…) I think my first exposure to them was from a can haha, but I enjoy them nonetheless.
Good luck on your presentation!
I have only ever eaten collards out- never made them at home. They are totally a southern treat. Maybe someday soon I’ll give them a go. The squash on the salad looks delicious. I have some BN squash on my menu for the day and can’t wait to gobble it up
I love collards! My mom usually sautées it in wine with olive oil, garlic and onion, but this past week I’ve just eaten them plain: steamed or raw with rice wine vinegar.
I’ve never had a collard green before. I can’t say they are very popular here, and you don’t see them in many grocery stores. Are they quite bitter? I’m not a bitter fan.
The best collard recipe I have ever tried comes from Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet book. “Sicilian Collard Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins”
Here’s a link to the recipe:
http://www.veganpeace.com/recipe_pages/recipes/SicilianCollardGreensWithPineNutsAndRaisins.htm