This is a dish that is best made when the weather starts getting a bit chilly--why? Because collard greens are best when they have been touched by the cold during their growth cycle--it makes them a little sweeter! They are a healthy and delicious source of nutrition, and, at least down South, a major source of vitamins. I grew up with big pots of collard greens with hog jowl or ham hock or smoked neckbone to give strength and flavor, as well as additional protein, and with big golden hunks of corn bread with butter served with them--it makes for a complete, tasty, satisfying meal on a cool autumn or winter evening, I can tell you! For those who don't eat pork, smoked turkeywing/drumstick/necks are fine as a substitute. If you are vegetarian and still want the taste and nutrition of collards, use Liquid Smoke and perhaps a bit more of the hot pepper to complement the taste. Collards are good hot or cold and we kids loved to slap some of those tender, cooked leaves between two slices of bread with a little butter or mayo--sounds weird, I know, but it beat bologna any day! On New Year's Day down South these are a must-have dish, along with red peas/black-eye peas and rice (flavored with ham hock, of course, and hot sauce), some golden-orange baked potatoes and cornbread. My mother told me that when she was young, living out in the countryside the farmers would keep the "pot liquor" (juice from cooking vegetables or collards) for the kids to drink--it was believed most of the vitamins from the greens were retained there--rather like home-made vitamins! If you need another reason to eat collard greens, try this: they are an excellent source of Thiamin, Niacin and Potassium, as well as Vitamins A, C, E and K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium and Manganese!

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