Saturday, January 2, 2010

Southern Roots in a Northern Climate

I may have mentioned--you know, in passing maybe once--that my mom is from New Orleans. Which is why I always make the traditional southern New Year's Day dinner of pork, greens, and black-eyed peas, even though I live way north of the Mason Dixon line.

There are penalties, however, to making a traditional food when outside the traditional geographic location. For instance, I don't think most people who made that meal yesterday faced this when they started the preparation of the greens:

Them's some cold-ass collards, right there.

I literally had to wait for a break in the blowing snowstorm before I went out there to harvest some very chilly and, I must assume, quite unhappy collard greens. I think the collards don't appreciate their home in a northern garden, where they are the only green, growing thing out there at the moment.

Except I think they've given up on the growing part. And really, can you blame them?

6 comments:

tu mere said...

That's absolutely amazing. Would have bet a substantial sum that those wilted looking lumps were not even close to edible. I'm sure, with how good a cook you are, that they tasted great. Yep, 2010 is truly going to be a healthy, luck filled (if not so much a money filled, by the look of the greens) year. Traditions rock.

Anonymous said...

Gardens are great! Vitamins au natural.

word verification spechbdo

the sound made while spitting out said greens from someone not accustomed to green eating.
;)

rls said...

Yeah...it's about 15 below zero here right now. Somebody just said we're 22 degrees colder than Anchorage, AK today. Brrrr!

Phoo-D said...

Wow, those are some chilly greens! How well did they hold up in the cold? Are they still edible? We're having a sub-zero day here and I miss greens!

Kristin @ Going Country said...

They were good. Collards taste better after freezing weather. Although I did use the bottom leaves that had been a bit more sheltered. The top leaves were looking a bit spotty and sad.

Daisy said...

Pork, greens, and black-eyed peas: I could take to that as a way to welcome the New Year, even though I live in the Frozen North of Wisconsin. Next year!