Please Don’t Make me Eat Those Ham Hocks
November 13th, 2008Life is Hard
For some reason, my visit to Wayne Cochran’s church has me thinking about Southern food. I have half a mind to get myself to Winn-Dixie and obtain some collards and ham hocks.
Oh boy. That would be good. Collards, ham hocks, a tomato, a sweet onion, and cornbread.
I can’t plan my menu with Marv yapping at me. He says, “Can I rub your snout? C’MERE! What are you lookin’ at?” His new word: “Well?”
I’m glad I have inadvertently become a master of cheap cuisine. I guess it was inevitable, because I cook a lot of hereditary peasant food. My grandmothers and great-grandmothers didn’t cook this stuff just because it was good. It was cheap. I like cooking Cuban food, and it’s the same way.
If the economy keeps tanking and we all end up eating low-end food, I’ll never know the difference.
I just saw something on the web, where some person is complaining about hard times. The complaint mentions being forced to make a meal of ham hocks, collard greens, and cornbread.
“Forced”?
November 13th, 2008 at 11:35 AM
That is like someone saying a meal of pintos, slaw, fried potatoes and cornbread is “eating poor.”. They just don’t know what’s good. Or else they are just stupid yankees.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Cheap is fine – if it’s good.
Your stuff is all good (so far, I am not all the way through the cookbook, and some things I’ll just have to avoid – but am through it far enough to conclude it is all good).
Cheap good is better than expensive equally good.
So extra points to you.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:22 PM
When I was growing up in GA, I hated collards. Now, I wish that I had some.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:25 AM
Steve, reminds of my childhood. In addition to having Southern roots, my family is from Germany and France. Southern cooking ,as you say, is just poor peoples food. I grew up on corn mush and sohgum molasses. Wurst mit kraut. Pan fried chicken. Rouladan and spazlte. Cou au Vin. All are basically peasant food. My Granny use to say greens, beans, and backs got many folks thru hard times.