Many moons ago, growing up in California, I had never heard of collards.

But here in the South, collards reign supreme in the fall and winter and are revered both for their savory flavor and for the labor of love it takes to clean, prepare, cook, tend, and serve these nutritious leaves to those who adore them.

Collard greens are packed with nutrition. As a dark green leafy vegetable, they boast high levels of:

Antioxidants that lower inflammation and fight oxidative stress.

Vitamin K which helps in bone strengthening.

Fiber which helps with proper digestive functioning.

Phytonutrients (plant nutrients) promote a healthy heart and brain – and help protect against cancer.

Folate which protects the unborn from neural tube defects.

Iron to assist the body in building red blood cells.

Close to my home is a produce stand that excels in fresh collards shown in the banner on this article. Mr. Holland cuts them in the morning and usually sells out in an hour or two.

See those mounds of green in the picture? Each one of those mounds is an entire collard plant!

I bought two of them recently and, after loving preparation, produced three, 2-gallon freezer bags full of partially prepared collards that will provide enough to get us through the next couple of months of holiday meals!

The following pictures will tell the story of what I did. Notice the assembly line which includes an over-sized drain field created by a flattened black garbage bag.

Each leaf needs to be cut from the stalk, placed in a sink full of water with an appropriate vegetable wash, and hand rubbed on every surface to remove dirt, bugs, or any spray residue from farming. I use a squirt of a Shaklee product called Basic-H in the water, but there are other vegetable cleaning products out there.

No kidding – both surfaces are rubbed and inspected. When done, place the leaf on the drain field. On to the next leaf.   

Change the water when it becomes dirty.

When washing is complete, change the water from the first rinsing process, and establish another drain field on the other side of the sink to receive the rinsed leaves. When complete, drain the sink.

For the final rinse under a slow-moving stream of water, leaves will be handled, rubbed, inspected, and trimmed of any undesirable sections and laid wet upon a large cutting board where the main leaf stalk is cut out.

Stack another leaf on top to cut out the stem. Repeat until you have a stack of four or five leaves.

Then, finish cutting them in half. Fold one half over the other, cut that stack in half, and then stack the quarter pieces.

Slice the quarter stack into strips, then cut across the strips.

Place the cut leaves into a large pan. These leaves are still wet, and any extra water from the board can go into the pan as well.

When the pan is full, cover, and turn the burner on to medium heat.

When the steam starts to build, stir the leaves around the pan, and replace the lid. Repeat this process every 2-3 minutes. You do not want the leaves to scorch. If the pan dries out before the leaves are finished wilting, add water.

The goal is to wilt the contents of the pan to about half. Then transfer the wilted leaves to a large plate or tray to cool.

Once cooled, transfer leaves to a zip lock freezer bag, placing 2-3 slices of fat meat on top. Close the bag and place it into the freezer for future use. PIC 13-14

To cook: Render the fatty meat very slowly in a heavy pan that has a lid to use later when cooking the collards. This is a slow rendering process to extract as much of the flavorful salty fat from the meat.

Transfer the crispy fat meat to a plate, keeping the fatty oil in the pan. Place frozen collards in the pan, pour chicken broth on top – about a cup – enough to cover the pan. Put the lid on and cook over medium heat.

NOTE: I use salted chicken broth and add NO salt to the collards. I finely chop up the rendered fatty meat, discarding the hard rind, and add it to the collards as they cook. The salt from the fatty meat and the broth are enough to season. I also add a few shakes of crushed red pepper.

Stir the collards about every 10-15 minutes, adding more broth as needed – do not scorch! As they cook, lower the heat to a simmer, continuing to make sure they have enough broth covering the bottom of the pan to prevent burning.

Collards are cooked to perfection when they are dark green, tender, and flavorful. Serve as is and have hot vinegar available for those who enjoy an extra ‘kick.’

Farm to table at its best!

In health-

Deidre

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In homage to this season of gratitude, when we look back and take stock of blessings, we are returning to our Thanksgiving Word Search.

While reviewing a year’s worth of thoughts, recipes, and exercises, we see words and concepts that might be a good reminder to us all and that could provide an opportunity to start a conversation around the holiday table.

Don’t know what to say to Aunt Martha? Pull this Foodtalk4you word search out to start a discussion about avgolemono, umami, or turmeric. Click the links in this post to reread the source article.

You might even share a chuckle and some personal antidotes about your own ‘nimrod’ experiences.

You can download the puzzle to print, and the answers are below to download as well.

Happy review and word search!

Avgolemono – literally meaning egg-lemon. Check out this Jan 9^th post to learn how these two ingredients ramp up the yummy factor in this soup.

Mirepoix – the holy trinity of initial ingredients used in the avgolemono soup.

Umami – this February 13^th post speaks the language of mushrooms and how they add the “fifth” taste.

Ineffable – Janet Gallagher’s words describing the deep meaning of the indescribable on April 30th.

Relaxers – what chemicals in unregulated American hair products can do to the unsuspecting users on June 18th.

Gratitude – consistently labeled the one thing we need more of to rise above the fray and to achieve personal calm and meaning on July 9^th.

Namaste – click the link in this post from July 30^th to share a moment or two with Aunt Martha that could transform each of you!

Chimichurri – an amazing addition to almost everything. I have since learned to chop the parsley more, more, more! It helps to thicken and enhance the flavors. Maybe use less fluid as well. September 3^rd has the recipe.

Oxytocin – it’s all about the hugs found in this October 1^st post. Are you getting enough?

Turmeric – my favorite anti-inflammatory ingredient for soup found in this October 15^th post.

Nimrod – my alter ego at its worst.

 Hummus – this crowd-pleasing pumpkin hummus is now a cherished recipe found on November 12^th.

Well, Christmas decorations may start popping up soon at our house as our time to enjoy them will be short-lived due to traveling.

I need to get into a festive mood so the Hallmark movies can feel right! LOL

One thing for sure, our readers are a blessing to us, and hearing from you in the comments is such a treat!

We wish each of you a blessed time of being thankful whether with family or friends – or strangers.

In health –

Deidre

Somebody turned the navigation of this body over to a nimrod.

No hurts or aches. Full range of motion. Sure, there are digestive/heartburn issues that are being worked on, but other than that … things were working. Pain free.

Until …

That nimrod flexed her muscles and, in a fit of pouting, declared she wanted just a smidge of normal life.

Normal, meaning eating gluten.

That Oktoberfest I recently wrote about? Well, whoever took over my body ate two – TWO – pretzel bites full of gluten – dipped in that delicious German mustard – while we sampled various Oktoberfest-ish beers, for a total of probably one whole, gluten-filled, yet fermented beer.

Fermented foods can often blunt the gluten factor. I occasionally eat Sourdough bread because it’s fermented.

But, you can’t fool Mother Nature.

So, here I am at Nimrod’s Anonymous:

“Hello. My name is Deidre, and I am a nimrod.”

“Hi, Deidre.”

“I ate and drank gluten, and I had to pay a terrible price. My hips hurt so badly, I could hardly walk. I powered through an evening stroll in slow motion, hoping I could iron out the pain if I just went slow enough.”

… and so, my confession continued as I explained how returning to the gluten-free life for three days of ‘purity’ has, so far, blunted the hitch in my step, but has not taken it totally away. I am, at least, not reaching for the Aleve anymore.

Several years ago, when I was teaching my first Designed for Health class, an attendee remarked how staying away from gluten had revolutionized her well-being. The swelling in her knuckles had gone down and she was able to, once again, wear her rings. Her other health issues were improving as well.

A person does not have to be deathly allergic to gluten to benefit from giving it the boot.

If you have hurting joints or a sense of things being ‘off,’ take thirty days away from gluten to see how you feel.

It has a lot to do with the kind of wheat grown in America. It’s a dwarf variety, not your grandmother’s wheat, and very high in gluten.

In fact, a friend of mine who is gluten sensitive, recently returned from a cruise in Europe. She ate ALL the breads and desserts while on vacation! You see, in Europe, they grow a different kind of wheat – the old kind which is more user-friendly.

Certainly, someone with Celiac Disease could not do that; but those of us who are gluten sensitive might give European baked goods a try.

Book me a cruise on Viking, please! Now!

In the meantime, I must admit to having feet of clay. Sigh.

Pain is a great teacher.

I will remember this pain next time that nimrod starts whispering in my ear.

In health –

Deidre

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