I was born and raised in Georgia but it wasn't until I moved to Tennessee that I realized I'm not a true Southerner (at least in the eyes of my co-workers). I'd never had hot water corn bread, fried bologna, or collard greens. All of the ladies at work were shocked when they found this out and have made it their mission for me to experience all of these foods.
Well, last week one of the ladies I work with had her farmer stop by with bags full of green beans, collard greens and mustard greens. I wish I had taken a picture of this (it was hilarious) - there were black trash bags full of these vegetables in the middle of a clinic.
I decided this was my opportunity to finally try collard greens! I used the recipe from Betty Crocker's cook book to make them. See how they turned out below!
I cooked the greens with ham hock, red pepper flakes, red bell pepper, balsamic vinegar and onions. I served the greens with Oven Fried Chickem (Bisquik recipe) and Velveeta mac n cheese.
In the end, I don't think I'm a fan of collard greens. I'm glad I tried them but that might be the last time I ever try them...hehehe.
What other foods do you have to eat to be called a true Southerner?
~Julia
This is funny because I have the same thing happen to me all the time! Even though I grew up in GA, my parents aren't southern so we never had collards, grits, sweet tea, or very many fried foods at home and people end up not believing me that I'm from GA. I think grits is the one I will never get a taste for ... I just can't eat them!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't think Smyrna is that Southern. I definitely love sweet tea and grits but that was as Southern as it got growing up. I'll always remember having to make two pitchers of tea growing up...one for my dad (unsweet) and one for the rest of the family (sweet).
ReplyDelete