Fresh and Light Coleslaw

I have been making this coleslaw for a while. I just cannot bring myself to add tons of mayo and sour cream to cabbage. It just seems too heavy. Instead, I add olive oil and other light ingredients. I made this coleslaw to accompany the pulled pork and collard greens. It made it feel like a good old country BBQ at the Thoele household!

Need

1/4 head of red cabbage
1/4 head of green cabbage
1/2 bag of baby carrots
1 red pepper
1/2 jar of dill pickles chopped
1.5 tbspn honey
2 tbspon olive oil
1 tspn apple cider vinegar
2 tspn salt
2 tspn fresh black pepper
Food processor
Prepare

1. Using the shredding attachment on your food processor, shred the cabbage, carrots, and red pepper. Empty into a large bowl. (You can also buy the bagged coleslaw at the store and julienne the red pepper.)


2, Chop half the jar of dill pickles. You can buy any brand you like. I try to buy pickles that do not have any added sugar.
3. Add the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to the cabbage mix and toss.
4. Next, add the honey and chopped pickles.
5. Toss the entire mix together and taste test. You may want to add more salt and pepper according to your taste.

Salty Collard Greens

There is a good reason that I call these collard greens salty. As I was preparing the greens, I was quite excited about the potential of them. Knowing I wanted to cook some southern BBQ, I saved the bacon fat from the morning's breakfast. The onions and garlic were giving off the most succulent scent. I was gathering my ingredients and I was seriously giddy when I added the ham hock to the pot. I went to add some sea salt and the container was being a bit stubborn. I tried to measure the salt using a teaspoon, but it was not going fast enough. I decided to just add a few "shakes" to the pot. Big mistake! As I was shaking the sea salt container, the top fell in the pot, and the ENTIRE container of salt fell into the collards. The entire container. Of course I screamed! Ben ran out of the bathroom panicking, shaving cream around his face and all. His solution was to simply "add more collard greens." Really Ben?

I ended up salvaging the batch by rinsing the entire pot through a colander. I got rid of the salt, but was worried about the flavor. I started a new batch from scratch using the old collard greens. In the end, they turned out to be quite alright.

I have lived in Georgia for just about 6 years now and I have grown to love collards. For a girl who grew up in the Midwest, I think that they would be approved by any southerner.

Need
1 lb bag of collard greens
3 tbspn bacon grease
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 smoked ham hock
1/2 can of tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
1 tbspn honey
1 tbspn apple cider vinegar
1 tspn salt
1 tspn black pepper

Prepare

Using a large pot, melt down the congealed bacon grease on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic, ham hock, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add half of the chicken stock to the pot and turn to high heat to boil. Once the liquid is boiling, add half of the bag of collard greens. Allow the greens to cook down and add the remainder of the chicken
stock and collard greens.










Once all of the collard greens are cooked down add the half can of diced tomatoes. The tomatoes really do not add too much to the flavor. I just like the color. Finally add the honey, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Make sure your salt cap is on!

Allow the collard greens to simmer for about 4 hours. The longer they simmer, the better!

Purple Kale

Ben hates kale. Jill loves kale. Therefore, kale is a frequent side dish at our dinner table. This recipe is very easy and I could eat the entire bowl of kale myself!

Need

1 bunch organic purple kale
1 large head of minced garlic
2 tbspn cooking sherry
1 tspn ghee or butter
1 tbspn olive oil
2 tbspn water
Salt
Pepper

Prepare

Wash the kale and discard the kale stems. (You can actually eat the stems, but they take a lot longer to cook and can be bitter.) Saute the garlic, butter, and olive oil on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add half of the kale bunch and 1 tablespoon of sherry and 1 tablespoon of water to saute pan. Place the lid on the pan for about 2 minutes or until the kale becomes wilted. Add the remaining kale, sherry, water and repeat. Allow the kale to wilt down until it is soft, but not soggy. Salt and pepper to your taste!