I firmly pulled away the leafy greens from the vein that holds them together. Some coarse and meaty, some light and feathery, some dense and chewy, all the sustenance that strengthen my body, and soothe my spirit. Oh, greens you are my comfort. You have seen me through when no meat, or sweet could make me complete. You were the one that required focus and resolve. One by one you had to be addressed. Each leaf had to be touched. Each held and stripped. Each one washed and freed of dirt and debris. Each immersed again and again to reveal the power of the earth in its fullness. No nonchalant tossing, no simple sauteing; this was real unadulterated work. You stripped and washed; stacked and rolled doing the chiffonade. Some things French ain’t so ooh la la! You are a visionary. You can see past the ugly to the delicious; a big fat pot of steaming collards, mustard, and turnips laced with hot pepper sauce, red onions, balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil if you’re nouveau and if you’re not; tender pieces of smoked meat peeking through the mix begging for hot water cornbread and some sopping! This is money in your pocket; spend it wisely and share it often!
Bon Appetit,
Chef ‘Nita
Have you tried collards with cornmeal dumplins?
Hey! No now that sounds like a delicious something. Tell me about cornmeal dumplins?
My mom used to make them just for the two of us, no one else in the family liked them (thank goodness). I would have to try an recreate her recipe, which was never written down of course:-). Anyway, She would drop them in when the greens had cooked down and were just about done. As my granddaughter says, “Yummy”.
Thank you Marlene! I’m going to search the web and try some of the recipes for cornmeal dumplins. And you my dear have made my mouth start to water for some chicken and dumplins’!