Collards

Collards. So good! I didn’t know how much I love them until fairly recently. A couple years ago I discovered just how much a bowl of collards in winter can change your life. Have you had this moment of realization? Typically, it’s the dark greens combined with bacon or a ham product of some sort. However, I don’t usually keep ham products around my refrigerator. (Allow the gasps in horror to commence.)

Okay. Recovered? So. This is a non-hammy collard recipe. I just wanted to see if I could get a good flavor profile without frying up a bit of bacon or including a ham hock. Or hocking anything at all. I think I did it, which is why I share it with you here. Now. This is not vegetarian. It could easily be. But come on, guys, I wanted to retain a little meatiness for my greens.

Collard Greens

1 T butter, unsalted

1/2 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 c chicken broth (or 2 c broth, 1 c water)

1 lb. collards, fresh from the garden

salt and pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

Saute onion and garlic in butter in dutch oven over medium heat. Once the onions become translucent, add the chicken broth. Bring to a near boil. Add the collards and spices. Simmer for a couple of hours. To add more flavor depth, you may also add chicken drippings from a certain stuffed chicken recipe that you might be making at the same time.

Masala-ish, Introductory Dish

First of all, how are you at onions? I am terrible. There he (she?) is. Looking innocent and full of potential. Then, I start chopping, and next thing you know,

I’m worse than any other woman watching Steel Magnolias or reading The Kite Runner or thinking about aging.

No, really. It’s bad.

Before we begin, let me give you a little background. My mom hates hates the smell of curry. I believe I may have mentioned this before (here, in fact). I didn’t grow up with it or any Indian-influenced dishes. I’m trying to learn about them gradually. I’m scared (remember, I’m a wimp) of diving in too quickly to uncharted food territory. But I’m excited to peek and ease into it.

So, I give you the furthest from masala masala dish you’ve ever had. I really do recommend this dish for those of you, like me, who are venturing into these tastes. And maybe no one else in the world needs to go so slowly into this fantastic world of complex, beautiful flavors. Let me introduce you to a friend I just met: Tumeric. And I had NO idea we had so many friends in common! You see, Turmeric gets along super well with Cumin, whom we met in Hummus but then ran into in all sorts of Mexican dishes, Ginger, who doesn’t just show up during the holidays like we thought, and Paprika and Cayenne. Wow. I mean wow. It’s crazy to see so many worlds collide here.

Thank you so much to food blogs and people who cook whom I admire: Deb, at SmittenKitchen, Aarti, from the Food Network Star, and my roommate Zach, who sometimes infuses the whole house with interesting food smells.

Masala-ish, Introductory Dish

largely inspired by Smitten Kitchen

1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 medium tomatoes (or two large), diced, juices saved
1/4 t ground cayenne pepper (add more for more heat)
1/4 t paprika
3/4 t ground turmeric (It’ll dye everything a beautiful shade of yellow. Enjoy.)
Dash of coriander seed
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 t cumin

Put your olive oil at the bottom of a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium high heat.

Then. Chop an onion. Breathe a sigh of relief once you’re finished and wash your hands a few times.

Mince the garlic and throw it on in. Sprinkle in the ginger and half the cayenne pepper. Let them hang out and sizzle together for about five minutes. During this time, you can chop your tomatoes.

Oh, man. They look so good. Don’t you love summer?

Turn the heat down to medium-low. And add the remaining spices, including the second half of the ground cayenne pepper. Let simmer for at least five minutes.

Serve by itself, with chickpeas, or chicken.

Remember, you can adjust spices as you would like. Play!

Green Bean Salad

This was my lunch three days in a row. And it felt great. Tasty with a zing and a pow. Maybe zing isn’t, exactly, the right word. But it’s good. And I will come back to this dish over and over again. Forever and ever.

If you currently don’t like onions, this dish could change your life permanently. It’s that powerful.

Green Bean Salad 
1 lb haricot verts
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 T lemon juice
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 T kosher salt
1 1/2 t Demarara sugar

Whisk cider, sugar, lemon juice, and salt together in a large bowl. Add thinly sliced onions and set aside. The longer the onions marinate, the better. At the very least, let the onions hang out about 45 minutes.

While the onions marinate, boil two and a half quarts of water. Add the green beans and allow to boil for about three minutes until they’re crisp-tender. Drain. Add to cold bath. Drain again. Pat dry.

Add green beans and celery to pickled onions. Add fork.

Burgundy Mushrooms

Ooh, wee. These are absolutely delightful. Perfect paired with steak or with baguette or greens or by themselves.

Burgundy Mushrooms
Heavily Inspired by The Pioneer Woman

1/2 c butter (Can’t skimp on this. It’ll be worth it. Promise)
1/2 white onion
4 cloves garlic
1 (8 oz) package mushrooms (I used Baby Portabello.)
1 c Burgundy wine (or any red. I used Cabernet Sauvignon.)

Melt the butter slowly over medium-low heat.

Add the chopped onion.

And add the garlics.

That’s right. Now comes the mushroom component.

Oh, but first take out of packaging. You can add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms all at the same time if you’d like. It was more dramatic presenting it this way.

Stir it all about. Crank it to high until golden brown. Oh, yeah. Number one rule for cooking perfect mushrooms: Don’t overcrowd the pan. This pan is a bit too overcrowded. Just a bit.

Add the wine.

Stir, turn it down to simmer, and cook. Let the liquid reduce by at least half.

Look at that sauce!!! Just imagine how incredible. Now stop imagining and go do. Make. Love. Enjoy.