Greens and Beans and New Year's Good Luck!

Missy Tippens

How many of you eat greens and black eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Day? My family always did that while I was growing up, so I usually try to do the same to keep up that tradition.

Okay, so this year I admit we went out to eat on January 1st! I was too lazy to cook. haha However, we did eat our good luck meal on the 2nd.

First, I sautéed some green and red peppers and chopped up leftover HoneyBaked ham. (I would have used onions but we have a family member who can't eat them.)

Then I dumped in a bag of frozen field peas and a bag of frozen collards. And followed up with about 3/4 of a box of chicken broth.

I simmered them until hubby got home, which ended up being about an hour. It takes at least 30 minutes for the peas to get tender.

It made a nice soup! You could also thicken it up and make it more like a stew, but I didn't want to add calories. I also served these new grapes I recently discovered. They really do taste like cotton candy to my daughter and me! (Hubby didn't agree.) However, once you eat a few, you don't really notice any more--and I decided I like regular grapes better. Still, it was fun for something different!

I also wanted to share these gorgeous chocolates my daughter-in-law got me! She bought them at a store in downtown Duluth, Georgia, called The Chocolaterie. They make them there. Almost too pretty to eat!! ALMOST. Because the box is nearly empty now. ;)

www.missytippens.com

Downhome with Collard Greens

Mindy here, and I can honestly say that I never had collard greens while growing up in Michigan. Matter of fact, the only thing we referred to as "greens" was salad. Then I moved to Texas.

Greens are a staple here and my husband loves them. And, believe it or not, I've grown to like them, too.

You can buy them in a bunch, but the bagged variety is much easier. BTW, just the fact that you can find these prewashed and precut in a bag says a lot about their popularity.

Okay, so let's get started by rendering the fat from a couple of cut-up bacon slices.

You know, just using the words "rendering the fat" tells you this recipe is downhome.

Cook the bacon until crisp, but not burned and remove from pan to drain on paper towels.

To the remaining fat (2-3 tablespoons),

add your greens, (since I was only making enough for two, I added about half a bag), some chopped onion and the bacon.

 Now add 1 to 1 1/2 cups water, stir everything together and bring to a boil.

 Cover and reduce heat to low.

Cook 30-45 minutes or until greens are tender.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

 Hubby likes to sprinkle his with hot-pepper vinegar, but I prefer mine as is.

Between the bacon and the onion...delicious.

Last week was a rather slow one here at the ranch. Not much going on with the renovation since our contractor had to finish up a job elsewhere.

Instead, we were on tropical storm watch as Cindy approached the Texas coast. Fortunately, all we saw were some really cool-looking clouds.

 And I had to share this pic just because.

Near as we could tell, Dixie was staring up at a squirrel. But she laid there like this for the longest time.

Now it's your turn.

Have you ever had greens? If so, are you a fan? If not, would you consider trying them? Or do you cringe at the thought of cooking with bacon grease? 

Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband and the last of her five children. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Of Poldark and Veggie Burgers

Any POLDARK watchers here in the cafe?

I confess a large part of this post was conceived just as an excuse to talk about Poldark.

The season finale was this past Sunday, and although there were times during this past season when Ross was anything but heroic, I stuck with it and in the end I *almost* forgave him.

If you're interested, I found a really interesting podcast interviewing Ross about the whole situation. As a fan of the show, I enjoyed it, but as a writer, it had me thinking about how I create history for my characters. Lovely to listen to him really analyze his character and his relationships.

Poldark Podcast 

So the food connection (bear with me) -

In one of the last Season 2 episodes, Dr. Dwight tells Caroline's uncle that he suffers from the "sugar disease" which I assume is diabetes.

Watching that episode on the Sunday after Thanksgiving having eaten so many wonderful pies (and heading into Christmas cookie season), I was reminded how badly I needed something healthy to eat.

So I decided to play with some healthy foods.

First I baked some gorgeous sweet potatoes.

Then I added some sprouted lentils and toasted sunflower seeds

I had the idea to add in some greens.  At first it looked like I had created an impossible mess, but they actually mashed down quite well.

I baked them for about fifteen minutes.

They made a great lunch. 

I tried adding some dried cranberries for a different flavor.

So let's talk - food or Poldark????