Rambi, I was born in Alabama, and didn't go north until I was eight years old.
But I do not recall that we ate "Southern" food even when I lived in the South -- except for hominy grits. I loved both hominy itself and the grits made from it (especially with brown sugar -- yum!). But nutrition-wise, you are better off eating the original corn.
Collard greens are wonderful -- if cooked right. In traditional southern cooking, collards are boiled to death, and then doused with junk like vinegar. Their strong point is the vitamins and minerals in them, all of which are lost in the traditional over-boiling method.
Collards are best stir-fried (briefly!), together with cabbage (for contrast). I would send you a recipe, but I know it is practically impossible to touch anything that once made you throw up. (A friend once cooked me a rhubarb pie as a "special treat," and it took some courage to sample it. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but still, there was that residual gag reflex.)
Oh, yes, I have to confess: I don't care much for another Southern veggie staple -- turnip greens. There really isn't any cooking method that will make them palatable, although mixed in with other greens they can provide a little kick, and so can be ok. |
