TAD

My friend Marcy emailed me her status for the week. Numbers 2 and 3 on her list involved tadpole sitting. Apparently Tad made a break for it and almost escaped from his aquarium at 11:00pm. (He would have made it too, if he'd only waited a little longer. But since Marcy has a dog -- he may not have liked it for long!) All I can do is publically apologise. Sorry! And I will call Pet's Mart and yell at them for lying to me!

However, being in the dog house affected the next favor I was going to ask her for. She mentioned that she had and I quote "A. Lot. Of. Vegetables." Since she was picking up my share of veggies from the CSA; my dad had suggested I ask her to can or bottle some of the veggies for me. Now after the frog trama I imagine she'll say no. Great. There goes that idea.

During that same conversation with my dad he mentioned he'd sent me a recipe for collard greens and asked if I wanted a recipe for chittlins.

Dad. I can not imagine any concievable future in which I would ever WANT a recipe for chittlins. But I'll take the recipe for the greens. (And it might come in handy for Marcy this week.)

Awesome Collard Greens Recipe
Ingredients:
2 - 3 medium smoked ham hocks or 2 pounds smoked pork neck bones
5 pounds of collards or several large bunches (If you can't get them fresh, frozen will do.
2 teaspoon of salt

My favorite way to cook collard greens is very simple. I take 2 or 3 smoked ham hocks and put them in a large (6 quart) pot of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil and let it boil for about 1 1/2 hours. Add more water as it boils down. The idea is to boil the ham hocks until they begin to fall apart. You should always cook pork very thoroughly and use proper food handling techniques. You want the ham hocks to be falling apart before you add the collard greens.Take the collard greens and separate the leaves (if fresh) . Now rinse each leaf individually under cold running water. After you rinse the collard greens thoroughly, stack several leaves on top of each other. Roll these leaves together. Then slice the leaves into thin strips using a cutting board and large knife. Rolling them together speeds up the process as you are slicking through several leaves at once.

Next, add your collard greens to the pot. Since this is a lot of collards, you will need to add them until the pot is full. Then allow them to wilt as they cook - then add more. Add you salt, cover and cook for thirty minutes on medium heat. Stir every few minutes to distribute the smoked meat taste evenly. Taste to confirm they are the tenderness you prefer. Serve with your favorite meat dish such as chitterlings. Eat the ham hocks or neck bones right along with the collards.People in my neck of the woods usually sprinkle lots of hot sauce on their collards. I like them that way. Give it a try.Since this is a large pot full, just save the extras in the refrigerator. They should keep for a long time and actually get better as the juices settle in.