🚀 go-pugleaf

Kelly Younger <kyounger@houston.rr.com> wrote:
>Jack Tyler wrote:
>
>> 
>> I'm afraid that's the nature of "soul food" and traditional "southern
>> cooking" from a veggie standpoint.  I grew up in the South and the
>> traditional way to cook greens, okra, etc., etc. was to put them in water
>> with a chunk of some kind of pork chunk and boilthem into submission.
 I
>> STILL like the flavor of that food.... but, most people today are like
you
>> and me... blanched or steamed veggies with some remaining texture and
snap
>> to them.
>> 
>> Jack Tyler
>
>Yup, I agree, Jack. My mother-in-law cooks mac and cheese for 4 hours!
>Blecchhh... She'll cook canned yams for 2 hours and don't even talk
>about greens or spinach. By the time she's done with 'em, you can carbon
>date them. All is not lost though. Lately I've been asked to cook the
>"Snap" (green) beans. I'll have them on the table in less than a half
>hour and everyone seems to love them. I just blanche, refresh and saut�
>with a little garlic and butter, no pork fat. Don't get me wrong...I
>love pork fat.
>-- 
>Kelly Younger

Not just Southern cooks I think.  My mother was born in Detroit, taught to
cook by her grandmother who was a Michigander until her 7th decade, and that's
the way she cooked veggies.  The worst was cabbage, 'stewed' until it had
the consistency of Kleenex that had been simmered for a couple of hours.
 With the proliferation of cooking shows on TV and the food section of the
paper, etc., kind of surprising to find a restaurant serving veggies that
way.  Mother learned not to cook veggies quite that much later in life but
still over-cooked them most of the time as far as my taste was concerned.
 What I've found at Pearl's may have more to do with the vagaries of steam
table service than anything.  I tried the place one more time;  it was hard
to tell if the meat loaf was overbaked just by looking but the catfish looked
fried to a crisp and beyond so I settled for baked chicken.  The okra was
as described by Stephen S. and others, much better than I had before, but
I'm still sure they use tomato paste, not crushed tomatoes, much less diced
tomatoes.  Is this really the best soul food in Houston?

Haven't tried Ivory's Soul Food Delight on Gessner yet.  A friend in the
area says they've been open almost a year, never seem to have any business.
 Not a good omen, I suppose, especially for the owner.

Yet another one: Mikki's Home Cooking, in a strip center on W. Bellfort @
the SW Fwy, behind La Via (fajitas and margaritas), next to Amal's bakery
and deli, around the corner (in the same center) from Shipley's (something
for everybody in the family?)  It's been packed two Sundays in a row; we've
been looking for light repast and haven't stopped but plan to get over there
sometime.  It may only be open on Sat-Sun; I drove by after shopping at Sam's
mid-week and saw no signs of life.  

Thanks for the posts.