Greens for Bluesmen

"Now I'm not a cook, but I do know this, All bluesmen love these greens!"…Carl "CC" Copeland


GREENS Ala CC
2 ham hocks
3 cloves garlic
1 large yellow onion
2 tbsp white vinegar or cider vinegar
3 lbs greens (any combination of collards, turnip greens and mustard greens)

Put hocks in large pot on stove and cover with 5 quarts of cold water
.Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer
Greens are usually grown in sandy soil and must be washed two or three times to remove all the grit
Cut away the thick stems and any yellow or damaged leaves.
Submerge the leaves in the cold water and swish them around let the sand settle to the bottom of the sink.
Gently remove the floating leaves and drain and clean out the sink. Repeat 3 times.
Roll the leaves four times and chop into strips about 1”
Add the clean, chopped greens on top of ham hocks
Cover pot and let simmer for at least 1 hour
Add a shot of white vinegar in the last half hour and serve
your greens with some corn bread to soak up the "likker"


Greens are good for you baby
They're full of calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium


**
Turn your left over collards into ‘Kickin’ Collards

1 tbsp oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced in to at least 6 thin slices
1 cup ham stock
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups left over collards

Heat oil in sauté pan
Add garlic. When the garlic is just barely light brown on the edges immediately add stock and crushed red peppers. If you hesitate, the garlic will change flavor and ruin the whole dish...don't let the garlic get too brown! When stock is heated through add collards, stir. Cook for 2 minutes and they are revived, refreshed and ready to KICK

These greens can stand up to almost anything else you can put on the table.
They are so outstanding that they cannot be overpowered by anybody's BBQ sauce. And yet, they are sublime with the bland comfort foods like grits, mashed potatoes, beans or mac and cheese. Any they are good tomorrow too! So, as long as you are going to all this trouble, make a “whole mess o’ greens”

IF YOU END UP WITH TOO MUCH WATER IN THE POT AT THE END—SAVE IT! Simmer it down. It makes a good beginning for soup stock. Let it boil down to a quart or two and save until the next time you want to make jambalaya, split pea or navy bean soup.

According to folklore, collards served with black-eyed peas and hog jowl on New Year's Day promises a year of good luck and financial reward, hanging a fresh leaf over your door will ward off evil spirits, and a fresh leaf placed on the forehead promises to cure a headache.