The Daily Southerner — My husband is a wonderful gardener. This year our garden looks spectacular! But, I didn’t really expect to start harvesting collards and cabbage in May. Somehow I thought it would take longer. I was wrong! We have collards that we are cutting almost every other day and his cabbage is beautiful. But, I have to find things to do with this bounty. That’s difficult when you travel for a living! Before I left for Portland on Monday, we put up bags and bags for frozen collards and blanched and froze many bags of cabbage.

One of the questions that we also had was – can you do anything with those big leaves that grow below the cabbage head? You never hear of people eating them. Well, the answer is YES. They tend to be a little bitter and tough, so you cut them in slivers and fry them until they are crispy, sprinkle them lightly with salt and they are great. You can also chop them up to add to stir fry dishes or soups.

Our first recipe is collard greens with bacon and onions. If you like greens you will love this one. The bacon and onions give them a wonderful flavor and smell great while they are cooking. Add more red pepper for a little more spice.

Our second recipe is more standard. It’s sautéed collards. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Some people favor collard greens boiled until they are meltingly tender, while others prefer them to retain some bite. You can do them either way using this recipe.

The third recipe is something I never thought of doing until recently. Collards stand up to frying much better than spinach or parsley because they are so thick and are tougher. You can fry them as much as eight hours in advance. The fried collards turn emerald green and so are a great color addition to any dish and add a pleasant crunch.

Our fourth recipe is using the slow cooker. It’s cabbage and tomatoes. It tastes great. If you don’t care for the smell of cabbage cooking, put the slow cooker on the patio and let them cook outside. That’s what I do.

The last recipe is a gratin. Using cabbage. Sounds strange but tastes great! Give this one a try. It will be worth the effort.

If you have other collard and cabbage recipes, I would love to have them! kvfreeman@triad.rr.com.





Collard Greens





1 tablespoon olive oil

3 slices bacon

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt    

1 tsp pepper

3 cups chicken broth

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 lb fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces





Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble and return to the pan. Add onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until just fragrant. Add collard greens, and fry until they start to wilt.

Pour in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until greens are tender.



Sautéed Collard Greens



2 1/2 lbs collard greens
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste



Remove and discard stems and center ribs of collard greens. Cut leaves into 1-inch pieces. In a kettle of boiling water cook collards 15 minutes and drain in a colander, pressing out excess liquid with back of a wooden spoon.

Mince garlic. In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat butter and oil over moderately high heat until foam subsides and stir in garlic, collards, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté collard mixture, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Drizzle collards with lemon juice and toss well.



Crispy Collard Greens



Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup collard green leaves, washed, thoroughly dried, large stems removed and cut into thin strips
2 quarts vegetable or peanut oil (for deep frying)

Salt to taste



Rinse collard greens and pat dry between paper towels. Cut out and discard center rib and stem from each leaf. Working with about 10 pieces at a time, stack pieces lengthwise with a short end facing you. Tightly roll up layers away from you into a short thick cigar. Cut off and discard ragged edge, then slice or "shave" as thinly as possible (less than 1/16-inch thick) with a large knife.

Heat enough oil in 3- to 4-quart pot to measure 1 inch deep over medium-high heat until it registers 400 degrees on a deep fat thermometer. Working in batches, drop a small handful of shredded collards into oil, then immediately scoop up with a mesh or slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels to drain.

Repeat with remaining batches, checking temperature occasionally to maintain 400.



Slow Cooked Cabbage and Tomatoes



2 cans (14.5 ounces each) stewed tomatoes

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup

1 medium head cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, sliced

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper



Combine all ingredients in the Crockpot; stir to blend ingredients.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until cabbage is tender.



Cabbage Gratin



1 medium head (about 2 to 2 1/2 lbs) cabbage, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, halved

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups milk

2 teaspoons spicy mustard or Dijon

8 ounces white Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

A generous grating of fresh pepper, about 1/4 teaspoon



Topping

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, optional

1 cup soft bread crumbs

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted



Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 1/2-quart baking dish.

Steam the cabbage until just tender. Drain well and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Sauté the garlic until aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove garlic and discard. Add the flour to the flavored butter and cook, stirring, until smooth and bubbly. Stir in the milk and mustard. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Stir in the Cheddar cheese and add salt and pepper, to taste.

Combine the sauce with the drained cabbage and pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, if using.

Combine the soft bread crumbs with 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter and toss until well blended. Sprinkle evenly over the casserole. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until browned and bubbly.





Did You Know?



10 Reasons to Try Container Gardening

Container is easy: Think you're a plant killer, or haven’t ever tried to garden? Container gardening is a great place to start. Even a complete novice can create a spectacular container garden in very little time. All you really need to get started is a container, some potting soil and either seeds or plants.

Container gardening can be economical: You can use almost anything for a container. Even an old bucket found at a yard sale, with a few holes punched in the bottom, can make a great container garden. Just look around your house and you’ll be surprised how many things will work: from outgrown toy bins to bright plastic tubs. Put drainage holes in the bottom, fill them with potting soil, add pansies or nasturtiums and for a few dollars you’ve made a lovely visual statement.

Garden in any space: Even the smallest space can be enhanced by a container garden. I have seen beautiful flowers and vegetable gardens grown on fire escapes and stoops. Whatever space limitations you have, you can design a container garden that will thrive. No sun? A terra cotta pot filled with different colored coleus can make you want to sing. Too much sun? Fill a basket with succulents to make a beautiful garden that will largely take care of itself.

Grow a cactus garden in Alaska: With container gardening you can be liberated from your geography – you can grow a cactus garden in Alaska or johnny jump-ups in Arizona. In many yards or even on a single deck or patio there are tremendous varieties of conditions--from sunny, warm and protected to shady and cool. Just make sure you have the right plants for your particular spot.

Kids love container gardening: My kids wouldn’t look at peas until they grew them in container gardens and could eat them right off the vine. Carrots took on new meaning when the kids saw them growing on the deck and could eat them when they were tiny and sweet. Kids love the success that container gardens give them, and they take pride, at a very young age, in growing something their family can eat.

Garden in a container to outfox critters: I got sick and tired of my tomatoes being devoured by the local tribe of woodchucks. As soon as I moved them to containers on my deck, I had all the tomatoes I could eat.

Container gardening can bring instant gratification: There are few things in life that can give you the instant gratification that a container garden can. In the space of a few hours, you can go to a local nursery, pick out a bunch of healthy, beautiful flowering plants, fill a container with them and be rewarded with a spectacular, professional looking garden! An added bonus is that you may never have to weed it.

Gardening in containers can suit any style: You can go for a modern look — think bright green grass in a stark white container – or a more formal arrangement – matching urns filled with cascading flowers flanking an entry-way. You can even have containers that will survive the winter, bringing cheerful green accents to areas that would otherwise be bland and boring.

You can grow almost anything in a container garden: There is almost no plant that can't be grown in a container garden. It's easy to grow vegetables and herbs, and even trees in a container garden.

Gardening in containers can suit any personality: With container gardening you can have great results being as relaxed or ambitious as you want to be. A couple of pansies in a pot may be enough to start with, or you might want to landscape an entire area with containers. All you need to be a successful container gardener is willingness to experiment, a tolerance for the unexpected and a love of playing in the dirt.

(http://containergardening.about.com/od/containergardening101/a/containerwhy.htm)