Bring on the crowder peas, collard greens and butter beans; stew up some okra and squash. These fresh-from- your-garden delicacies are food to feed the soul, so delicious their memory lingers with you for years.
Succulent vegetables with odd- sounding names may seem like exotic crops grown only in the South, but getting quality ingredients for your comforting cuisine is easy to do in Colorado gardens. Though not all can be duplicated here — let the South keep a few mysteries — others, such as okra, collards or black- eyed peas fit in every garden.
Okra, a silken specialty good for soups, gumbos, and stews, is fussy and doesn’t like transplanting; sow directly into the garden two weeks after frost date. Once it sprouts, thin seedlings to 8 inches apart if growing in square-foot method. Pods are sweetest when they’re young, so pick often by clipping them from the plant. Gloves are a must when working this plant — it has spines.
Collards, a non-heading cabbage relative and staple of a soul-food garden, can be planted as seedlings in spring for a summer harvest, or as seeds in mid-July for a savory fall treat. Pick young leaves individually for cut-and-come-again production, or take the whole plant off at the ground after leaves reach 6 inches tall.
Not all ingredients in soul food are exotic; some are old friends cooked in amazing ways. Plant a hill of watermelons for pickled rind, or pop in tomatoes and green, red and yellow bell peppers. Add onions, jalapeños and cabbage and you’ll have chow- chow, a condiment you’ll relish with meals.
Sow a block of sweet corn and let black-eyed peas or butter beans (tasty, tender limas) climb the stalks. They make great companions, which is what soul food is all about.
Contact Carol O’Meara, a local gardening expert, at omearac@yahoo.com or on her blog at .
Green Tomato Chow-Chow
Chow-chow combines traditional garden favorites including tomatoes and bell peppers to create a condiment that livens up any meal. From Emeril Lagasse on “Emeril Live.” Makes 3 pints.
Ingredients
1 dozen green tomatoes, cored and quartered
3 medium green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
3 medium red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
3 medium yellow peppers, seeded and chopped
3 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 cup fresh jalapeños, stemmed and chopped
1 quart Pickling Liquid
Directions
In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes about 10 times. Pour into a nonreactive saucepan.
Add the peppers, onions and jalapeño to the processor and pulse about 10 times. Add the mixture to the tomatoes.
Stir in the Pickling Liquid.
Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and spoon into 6 half-pint preserving jars, filling to within one-half-inch of the top. With a clean damp towel, wipe the rim and fit with a hot lid. Tightly screw on the metal ring.
Process in a hot-water bath for 25 minutes. Using tongs, remove the jars, place on a towel and let cool. Test the seals. Tighten the rings. Store in a cool dark place. Let age for two weeks before using.
