Collard Greens with Red Onion and Bacon with Black-Eyed Peas with Bacon and Pork ~ Comfort Food and Good Advice

When my husband returned home from work the other night, he was greeted by the aroma of Smoked Pork Shoulder and Bacon being rendered down and then slowly simmered atop the stove...

You see, earlier in the day I asked him what he wanted for dinner.  I expected the usual response, "Something delicious, seems like a grilling night, right?"  But instead to my surprise the man blurts out, "collard greens cooked in bacon with some sort of beans on the side." 


It was obvious he had been giving it some thought.

An hour later I was strolling down the aisle of a local farmer's market, filling my basket with greens and pork, dried peas and onions....it would be my first time attempting collard greens and I needed to be prepared!

While checking out, there was an older African American woman in line with an entire basket of Mustard Greens  ~ she must have had 15 lbs or 20!  Instantly, I began second guessing my decision to go with a mixture of collards and turnips.  I seized the opportunity to tell her of my husband's request and ask her for any advice (secretly hoping and praying she would hand over her ~ no-doubt ~ perfected family recipe....!) 

Instead she smiled and responded, "Cook them with love my dear...just good ol' fashion love."  I shook my head in agreement  ~ and promised her that I would. :)

Click on the following links for the recipes and see my notes below:

Collard Greens with Red Onions and Bacon

Black-Eyed Peas with Bacon and Pork

My notes:

1. I halved both of these recipes

2. I used 1 lb Collard Greens and 1 lb Turnip Greens

3. I used dried Black-Eyed Peas, brought them to a boil for 2 minutes, then allowed them to sit in the water about 2 hours before following the recipe

4. For the Greens, I used Smoked Pork Shoulder in place of the bacon

5. I did not add the salt to the Black-Eyed Pea recipe as the bacon, pork shoulder and low-sodium Chicken Broth yielded the perfect amount of flavor to the dish.

6. The one thing that's missing here: CORN BREAD!!!

THE TRUE DEFINITION OF COMFORT FOOD!