It Doesn't Get Any More Southern Than This

Supper, Saturday June 16: smoked pork; mixed greens; fried squash, fried taters.

I have ranted on BBQ before. I don't need to right now. I'll come back to it later. 

The greens of my youth were chopped, and boiled with smoked pork, jowls or hocks, until you could almost eat them with a straw. 

I exaggerate, but they most certainly were cooked until soft. Now if that was mustard or turnip greens then that would not take too long, but if it was kale or collards then it could be an all day affair depending on the season (winter collards ate more tender, and sweeter to boot). As for now I tend to cook greens with a little tooth left, but that does depend on the culinary context. In this instance we have a very traditional accompaniment so I cooked them a little soft. On the other hand If I were going to serve them as the centerpiece under a salt block seared piece of grouper I would likely leave them a bit al dente. 

I play around with seasoning too. Traditional is OK. A little chopped onion is good with a little vegetable base. Sometimes I will add a little crushed tomato or crushed red pepper. Coarsely chopped kale sauteed in olive oil with garlic and sesame seeds is great. 

There are a bunch of new approaches to be found on the interwebs. Greens are a "superfood" dinja know? Who knew? We've been eating healthy in the south all along.