Recipe for Southern Greens

Good home, southern style cooking is often called soul food. It is cooking made with lots of love, passion and family tradition. Oftentimes soul food recipes have been passed from generation to generation, and are a staple at many holiday meals.

Southern greens are a very popular soul food dish. They can be found on many a Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas dinner table. For my family this was no different. My grandmother would often make greens as a tasty side dish or main entree. Although my grandmother made this dish with tons of love, she also stocked it with lots of fatty meats like ham hocks and salt pork. Because I do not eat pork, I've had to make several changes to her recipe. In fact, I now make my southern greens with absolutely no meat or meat products at all. It is completely vegetarian but also wonderfully delicious.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of greens (mustard, collard, turnip or a mixture)
1 package of vegan onion or vegan onion mushroom soup mix
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon of minced or dried garlic
1 medium white onion (chopped)
1 large tomato (sliced)
jalapeno peppers (sliced)
salt/paper to taste

Preparation:

Wash and trim greens
Bring 1 1/2 quarts of water to a boil.
Add 1/4 cup of olive oil.
Add 1/2 of white onion, garlic and onion soup.
Add greens little by little, stir while adding.
Reduce to simmer.
Cover and cook for one hour.
Add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and red pepper flakes.
Cover and cook for another hour and a half.
Combine sliced tomatoes, remainder of white onion and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar in bowl. Cover and set aside.

Serving:

Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Plate greens.
Top with two tablespoons of tomato/onion mixture and jalapeno peppers (if desired).
Serve with corn bread.