Collard Greens

To be honest, I do not remember Granny or MeMaw making Collard Greens.  However, there was/is a recipe written in one of the cookbooks.  We all thought the recipe came from Grandma Dora, because Granny had written what Mom thought was "Mom's Greens."  When I saw the recipe, I noticed that Granny had written "Maam's Greens" in her curvy handwriting.  Ma'am was a woman who worked with Grandma Dora as she ran the dairy and cooked in camps and at schools.  So the story goes, Ma'am was a black woman who was widowed with six children.  She needed money.  Grandma Dora, who was also widowed, needed help. I have a Ma'am doll, and cannot remember where it came from.  Granny used to say that Ma'am treated her along with her sister Mary Jane as if they were her own.

I do remember Ma'am meeting Granny in town and would scoop her up in a huge hug.  I also remember Granny being very sad when Ma'am died.  I was in elementary school when Ma'am passed, and Grandma Dora had died the year before I was born.  Ma'am, like Grandma Dora, called Granny "Thellen," which was short for Martha Ellen.  I can still hear her say, "Come here, Thellen!  Come here!"  Then once she wrapped her arms around Granny, she would rock her and say, "Here's my baby!"  Ma'am did not care where we were or who was around.  Granny got rocked and the rest of us would be fussed over.  Once, Sandy who was a toddler, shied from Ma'am.  It mattered not.  She got squeezed and hugged like the rest of us.

I thank whoever put them in the book.  These collard greens are hands-down the best I have had and they are easy to make!

Collard Greens with Bacon - Ready to EAT!

 Here is what you need to cook a pound of collard greens.

• Some smokey meat.  Ham hock, smoked turkey leg, etc.  I used 3 slices of thickly-sliced bacon today. As time goes on, I find I use bacon more and more.
• Oil.  I use olive or avocado oil along with bacon fat.
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 good pinch of crushed red pepper
• 3 cups of chicken broth if not using ham hocks.  (I've used bouillon and "Better than Bouillon" works well too.)
• Salt to taste....it depends how salty the stock is.
• HotShot to deepen the heat if desired.  (Nieces and Nephew should not tear my heart out by not having HotShot on hand.  I would worry about your upbringing.)

1. So cook the bacon until crisp, if using bacon.  Keep the grease.  If not using bacon, just go to the next step. 

   

   Bacon cooked crisp.

2. Saute the onion in the bacon grease and a tablespoon of olive oil.  (If no bacon, use two tablespoons.)  Stir until softened.

   

   Sauteed onions!

3. Add garlic and stir for about two minutes.

   

   Garlic and onion in bacon grease and olive oil.  Mmmm.

4. Crumble bacon and add back to the pot along with (or add meat), black pepper, red pepper flakes, salt, broth, and a few shakes of HotShot.

   

   This is in your spice rack, right??

5. Stir.  Dump in a pound of collards.  Let it wilt.  Stir again.  

   

   It will wilt.

6. Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes or so.

 Serve this up with lots of things: Soup beans, mac-n-cheese, fried chicken, etc.  Only one thing really must be included and that is cornbread.  The pot "likker" is just too good to omit it.