Pre-Spring Collards
by projectbuddy
Although it is not officially spring yet, after the cold weather and snow storms that we had in February, I am ready for spring. We seldom get deep snowstorms here in Tidewater Virginia, but last month there was one in particular that buried my collards for over half a week.
A lot of older leaves showed damage from the extended period of cold, but for the younger leaves, that’s just what they needed to improve their flavor. For years now I’ve bought several bundles of young plants from Norfolk County Feed and Seed and plant them early in the fall.
Until last month’s series of snowstorms, I had just about given up on fighting the cabbage moth caterpillars that had invaded my backyard garden patch. There was also another new kind of unidentified caterpillar munching away. The extended cold seems to have done what my daily inspections could not do.
Few dishes are more Southern than “a whole mess of collard greens.” Cooking methods may vary, but there are really only two ways to cook collards: the right way and the wrong way. For me, success is judged by how well the “pot liquor” goes with cornbread. It’s that simple.
Here is my recipe for “The Best Collards Of My Life”. It’s been some time since I’ve posted a recipe, so watch for my next recipe that will be posted soon after these collards have been cut and cooked. It will be “The Best Cornbread Of My Life!”
These photographs were taken in February and March 2014, about one week apart.
Collards are one of those things about which we Northerners haven’t a clue. I’ve had them once or twice and enjoyed them (when I was travelling down South) but they are very seldom encountered up here, in a restaurant for instance, or even in a garden. I have seen them in the local grocery store occasionally and surprisingly; they often look neglected but they must have some devotees or they wouldn’t be in the produce section.
And then there’s the matter of discussing growing things in mid-winter! Something that doesn’t even cross our minds here in Vermont… but soon that will begin to change. It’s fun to hear about your perspective and what it’s like in a different region.
Yes, I think you’re right, but there have to be a few things that Northerners grow that are new to us Southerners.
Honestly, the first and most influential books on gardening that I ever read (and reread many times) are by one of your fellow New Englanders, “Crockett’s Victory Garden” and “The New Victory Garden.” When I first read those books, I was all set to move to New England and start a garden because surely that was “THE” place to garden!
Maybe this summer I can do a post about cooking some “simlins.” (The secret is all in the cast iron skillet.) My grandmother once made a batch of simlins that were so good she went back to the Red & White Grocery and bought every single one that they had!