September 19, 2010

eat yo greens

I'm so glad it's the weekend...this first whole week of school was definitely though, and my body is still adjusting to the long hours. But, i love every second of it here. The past weekend at the farmer's market, I passed by a booth that was selling collard greens and decided to try making it. It's always so hard to just stick to my list of things because everything looks so good there!

I looked up a few recipes, and it seemed simple enough. I think usually it's made with ham hock, but I didn't have the time to get that going so I just used bacon instead.
Cook one diced onion with some bacon (I used 4 slices of thick cut) and garlic until the onion turns translucent.
Then add the greens. I used two bunches destemmed. It may seem like a lot, but they really reduce in size after a few minutes. I added a few tablespoons of vinegar, then when the size goes down, add 1 cup of water of chicken broth. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
The finished product. Overall not bad at all.
I've been eating pretty simply otherwise. For dinner today I just had a salad of corn, bell peppers, celery w/ garlic olive oil/vinegar dressing, a piece of gouda, and a cup of wine ( I have no wine glasses). I think my cooking strategy is to make a lot of something on Sunday, then have that for the rest of the week. I bought some kale today at that same stand I got the greens, so my next post will be about that.
The cat is doing well, and we're both slowly learning about one another. I've discovered he loves the laser pointer. I've thought of a few names, but I'm still not sure if they completely fit him: Poot (short for Pooter), Little Man, and Hubert. Happy Sunday!

8 rah rah rahs:

Mary said...

I need to get out to the Farmer's Markets again - I miss them. I think Hubert would be an awesome name for a cat!

Dennis K. said...

Mmm now those I bet I can eat all day long. Looks really great!

KirkK said...

Hey Sawyer - Good to know you're surviving! A recommendation, if I may... I'm no expert on collards, but if you can find some good smoked ham hocks, and a bit of time.... well, not necessarily busy time, but first doing the hock ,then the green for about an hour, that stuff is just plain outstanding!

Carol said...

Of all the greens, I think I like chard the best.

I like Poot and Hubert. :-)

imjustatree said...

mary: you def. should. plenty of good stuff and i've been goin every saturday
dennis: they were just ok haha...i had them today again w/ some rice.
kirk: thanks for the tip. i made this twice, once w/ water and once w/ chicken broth and the broth def. made it a lot richer. i can only imagine how much better it would be w/ the hocks.
carol: i don't know if i've had chard, but i have seen it at the farmer's market. maybe i'll pick that up next time

Marie said...

I love collard greens! Your version looks awesome. Geez, I can't remember the last time I even made greens at home. How shameful.

imjustatree said...

hey marie, this was my second time makin em, and really it's just not the same w/o ham water lol...it's pretty easy to do though, so you should give it a shot!

Cathy Doe said...

Love all kinds of greens. Collards need ham/salt/grease for flavor; kale and chard don't. I've ended up making chips out of most greens lately(tear, mix in olive oil/salt/pepper then spread on a coookie sheet and bake)That really brings out the flavor. Plus, it's chips.
I let my cats tell me their name. I just say words and see how they react. So. Yes. I've had Diode, Floppy (disc drive), TipTop, Pepper, Gizmo, Backpack and CoAx.

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