A little taste of the South

When I saw that I was going to get some collard greens, I knew I had to make a little "soul food" (to the extent that a white girl from Utah can).  I scoured the internet for the best recipe, but finally ended up improvising a little.  I knew I wanted to make black-eyed peas, and I knew I needed cornbread, but didn't necessarily want to make a meat dish.  I had fully intended to keep it all vegetarian, but a quick phone call to my sister in North Carolina convinced me to defrost the bacon in my freezer.  Totally worth it.

Beautiful fresh collards

Collard Greens with onion and bacon:

- one bunch collard greens, thick stems removed and sliced into bite-size pieces (taking into account the massive reduction after they cook)
- 1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
- 3-4 slices bacon, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Fry bacon 2-3 minutes.  Add onion & garlic and cook another 2 minutes.  Add collards, stirring to coat in fat released from bacon.  Add 1/2 cup water and cover.  Cook until greens are really tender, adding more water if necessary.  My sister also recommends using beer instead of water.

My Southern dinner

Black-eyed peas:
- 2 cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 sliced bacon, diced
- 1/2 C chopped onion
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, cook bacon for 2-3 minutes.  Add onion and saute 2-3 minutes, until a little soft.  Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat and simmer until everything is tender.

The cornbread came from How to Cook Everything, my favorite cookbook of all times.  Mark Bittman's recipes are always great, and designed to be flexible.  Since I didn't have buttermilk on hand, I used yogurt and a little milk to thin it out.  It was perfect.  Best of all, I got to share this meal with a good friend who'd never had any of these foods before.  The cornbread recipe can also be found here.