I think I was about 20 years old before I ever ate collard greens. We just didn’t have them when I was growing up, though my Mother said her mother cooked them. I think my Dad didn’t like them and that explains that!

Like all greens you have to wash collards really well before cooking them or you’ll end up with grit in your teeth. I wash each leaf and break off the biggest tough parts of the stems. I do leave in some of the smaller stems.

I’ve cooked collards for many years now and it’s amazing all the different ways people have of seasoning them. I’ve settled on using a piece of smoked pork, red pepper flakes, a pinch of sugar, minced garlic, salt, pepper and sliced onions. Now, we have a vegetarian in the family so I always cook a small pot of collards with no meat, they’re good, too.

The thing about collards is that you need to let them cook a LONG time to really bring out the taste. So, I put everything in a big crockpot and let it cook on low overnight. When I know I will be here all day I cook them in a pot on the stove, adding water as needed.

To cook collards:

Pick over each leaf, tearing out any imperfect places and breaking off large, woody stems.
Wash each leaf well.
Chop the leaves into bite sized pieces and place them in a big pot.
Add enough water to fill the pot about 2/3 full, don’t worry about covering all the leaves, they will cook and shrink, or “cook down” eventually.
You can add water if needed later.
Add all the seasonings to the pot of collards.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Allow collards to cook for several hours until they are very tender and flavored with the seasonings. Don’t be surprised if this takes 4-6 hours.
Serve with cornbread!

Right after Christmas, when we have lots of citrus on hand, I start making candied orange peel. Its an old fashioned candy that folks used to make to keep from wasting the peel.  I like just plain orange peel, I know its not a taste everyone likes though. The sugar makes it palatable for everyone.

The best kind of oranges to use for this are thin skinned ones. You CAN use naval oranges but you’ll have lots of pith to remove before you can candy the peel. Its just easier and I think the thin skin is better tasting anyway.

It doesn’t matter how much peel you have, you’ll be cooking it in the same amount of syrup. But you can save the syrup from batch to batch and just add sugar and water to it as you need.

Its best to use organic oranges for this too, but back in the day before we had organic stuff, I just used regular oranges and washed them before I set them out in a bowl for everyone to eat.
Also, it doesn’t matter how shaggy the peels are but if you want nice even pieces of candied peel you’ll want to cut and quarter the oranges as you peel them. Store the peels in a bowl in the kitchen til you have all you want to make the candy.

First, put 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water in a medium sized, heavy bottomed pan. Bring it to a boil and then drop all the orange peel in it. Boil for 10 minutes.

At this point if your peel has lots of white pith on it, you’ll want to take the peel out of the syrup and use a spoon to scrape off a lot of the pith. The more you scrape off, the stiffer and harder the finished candy will be. I like it kind of chewy so I leave the pith on when using thin skinned oranges and I don’t scrape it all off of the peel of naval or Florida oranges either.

Return the oranges to the syrup and bring back to a boil for 10 minutes. If you didn’t scrape pith, just leave the orange peels in the syrup and let it boil another 10 minutes.

Now take the peel out of the syrup draining it as best you can while reserving the syrup if you want to use it again, and let the peels drain. I use a small colander.

Next put about 2 cups of sugar in a large plate ( I use pure cane sugar) and piece by piece press the boiled peel into the sugar. Some people even use a rolling pin to press the sugar into the peel. I just use the back of a spoon.

Next you can cut your sugared peel into strips and lay it on parchment paper or a wire cooling rack to dry. I have even dried it in a dehydrator on about 110*F for a couple of hours, works great. When the strips or pieces are no longer wet and are sort of firm, they’re ready.

Store dried candied peel in glass jars, tightly covered. It will last a long time on the shelf if it is really dry, but I like to freeze it to have on hand for months.

If you like candied fruit and spicy baked goods, you’ll like these old-fashioned cookies.
Welsh Cakes are like scones but spicier and thinner. These are some of my favorite cookies and I only make them at Christmas. They go really well with a bold tea like Welsh Breakfast, Scottish Breakfast or English Breakfast.

2 cups flour
1/2 level tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) butter
1/3 cup caster sugar (superfine granulated)
1/2 level tsp Mixed Spice (All Spice / Pumpkin pie spice) (optional)
1/2 cup or about 2 oz candied peel. I used what I had left over from fruit cake making.
1 egg, beaten
Cream to blend…. you really do need to use cream in this.

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl.
2. Cut the butter into the flour mixture. Add the peel.
3. Stir in the egg, then add enough cream to make a firm dough.
4. Roll out the dough to 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick, cut it in to 3 inch rounds

Traditionally, you would cook them on a hot buttered griddle iron or in a heavy frying pan for about 10 minutes, turning when the underside is brown. However, I baked them in a 350* F oven on a stone until they were lightly browned.
Serve warm with butter and honey. Makes about 10

I was given the turkey carcass from last night’s fellowship dinner at Church. So tonight I am making turkey soup. With homemade noodles.

I have cooked the carcass in a big pot of water with some carrots, celery and onion for flavor and a splash of apple cider vinegar to help the bones release minerals.  No, the soup won’t taste vinegary, I don’t use that much just a ‘glug’ from the bottle.

After it has simmered all day, it’s ready to make soup. I strain the broth out. What I don’t use tonight will be pressured canned or put in the freezer for later. It will develop a wonderful jelly like layer over the top of the liquid. That jelly is filled with protein and nutrition. Its great for simple lunches and recipes both.

Then I pick the meat off the cooked bones and set it aside. I save the cooked veggies for lunch tomorrow.

In a smaller pot I put enough broth for tonight’s soup.  Just about 8 cups or so. Then I add some meat, about 1/4 cup per cup of soup so about 2 cups of meat in this pot. Next I add chopped carrots, chopped celery and a diced potato. I just eye-ball the amounts. You don’t need to add the potato, but it makes the soup heartier.

Now add some salt and black pepper to taste.

Once the potatoes are about done, and it won’t take long because they’re diced, I add the homemade noodles. I have some in the freezer from where I made them last week.

The noodles only take 10 minutes or less to cook. Taste the soup and add more salt and black pepper if needed.  This soup is so simple and satisfying, it doesn’t need a bunch of herbs or seasonings, it stands on it’s own.

The Noodles

I’ve been watching a lot of episodes of Pasta Grannies and learned that the flour I can buy here is not like their 00 flour.  So I ran some plain flour through my VitaMix and made a flour that is like powder, much like the Italian 00 flour. And oh my does it ever make great noodles!

I use 1 egg and a glug of olive oil for every cup of flour and a pinch of salt. I’m kind of big on glugs, aren’t I?  Mix it all up and knead til its smooth and soft, elastic.  Let it rest about 20 minutes before rolling out the noodles.

You can run it through a pasta roller or hand roll it with a rolling pin. I suggest you roll it out about 1/4 inch. I use my Kitchen Aid pasta roller.  Then you can roll it up and cut the noodles or use an old fashioned thingie like this pasta/noodle roller. That’s what I usually use.

Keep the noodles floured well and separate them to dry a little while before you cook them, maybe another 15 minutes.

Its getting to be soup time!  Cooler weather makes me crave a good soup.  If you like tacos, here is a soup recipe that is bound to please you!  This recipe isn’t my usual whole foods type but contains mixes and canned ingredients. Feel free to change it up as you like.

Taco Soup

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
• 1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (1-ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix

Garnishes:

• Corn chips
• Sour cream
• Grated cheese
• Chopped green onions

Brown the beef and onions together, drain if needed.

Add all other ingredients, transfer to a slow cooker.  Cook on LOW for 6 hours.  Serve with garnishes.

For a thinner soup, add a little beef broth.