New Frontiers: Collard Greens

I am starting my New Year's resolutions early this year. First, I am committed to trying new recipes and preparing foods I traditionally have prepared for me. Second, I am going to use more local produce. Third, I am going to work on working off the poundage I have put on, but that's for another post! But back to my first resolution. Although I do love cooking I have let my fear override my willingness to prepare things I have  loved to eat but let someone else cook. But when I picked up last week's CSA, I found collards in my bag of veggie awesomeness. I needed to cook them. I wanted to cook them. Could I convince myself to do it?

Fast forward to a much needed break from work, having been off since the 21st of December. I have been newly revitalized to cook a lot more being home. I have had time to peruse recipes, think about what I want to get out of 2013 culinary wise and do some serious menu planning. Visiting my parents on Christmas Day, I mentioned the collards I had to cook. My 82-year old grandmother chimed in with her sure fire method: cook them with some cabbage and add red pepper. Conveniently, my CSA also came with Chinese cabbage.Well, that was enough to make me commit.

I bought a piece of country ham for seasoning and set to work. First, I cooked four slices of bacon in a stock pot and drained them, reserving some of the drippings. To the drippings I added half of a chopped red onion, some red pepper flake (about a tablespoon), some cayenne (about a teaspoon) and a little olive oil. Just once the onions started to soften, I added  the ham piece and gave it some quick color. next I added 4 cups of my homemade chicken stock. I brought this up to a boil. Then I added all of my collards in batches and then all of the Chinese cabbage in batches as well. Each time I added a bunch of leaves, I ensure I wilted them down before I added the next. Finally, I added 2 cups of water, covered the pot, reduced the heat to a simmer and let sit for 2 hours.

They came out FANTASTIC! I served them with crumbled pieces of bacon on top. My mother-in-law said she had never had them before, and really enjoyed them. Hubby, who turned his nose at the idea of them, gobbled them up too. They were spicy and salty and, wonderful!

This is what I needed to convince me my New Year's resolutions were not at all unreasonable or unreachable. I am very excited about what's around the bend!