Collard Greens in Phyllo, Avocado Shooters and Parsnip Fries

I grew up eating collards. I know people who turn up their nose at anything remotely spinachy looking. Not me. Must be a Southern thing.

However, I bet that even if you are one of those that shudder at the thought of dark green leafy things, you will like these.

Collard Greens in Phyllo

One bunch of fresh collards
One shallot
Olive oil
One elephant garlic clove
1-1/2 t. balsamic vinegar
Phyllo dough sheets, thawed
One pear, sliced thin

Tear the collards from the stem and compost the stems. Add the collards, shallot and garlic to a food processor and pulse until everything is chopped. Saute this mixture in olive oil until tender. Stir in the vinegar and a dash of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Coat a cookie sheet with a cooking spray. Lay out a sheet of the phyllo and brush with olive oil. Top with another sheet and brush with olive oil again. Do this a third time. Spoon a heaping spoonful of the collards mixture in one corner of the stacked and oiled phyllo sheets. Top with a slice of pear. Begin folding in a triangle until all of the phyllo has been used. Lay this triangle on the cookie sheet, and begin the process again until you have used up all of the collards mixture. I got about five. Brush these triangles with more olive oil.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Avocado Shooters

2 cloves of garlic
One jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
3 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
2 T. lime juice
1/2 t. hot sauce
2 c. plain rice or soy milk
1/2 c. fresh cilantro
1/4 t. cumin
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped

Add everything but the olive oil and onion to a blender and blend on high until everything is smooth.
In a skillet, saute the onion in the olive oil until softened. Add the avocado puree to the onions and gently simmer until it is heated through. Serve in shot glasses with a dollop of vegan sour cream on top.

For those of us who love guacamole, this is like hot guacamole, sipped instead of scooped.

Parsnip Fries

3-4 parsnips
Olive oil
1/2 T. ground coriander
1/4 t. ground cloves
1 T. ground turmeric
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground ginger
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Using a potato peeler, shave off strips of parsnip lengthwise. In a ziploc baggie, add the parsnip strips, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Massage the parsnip strips to coat well. Bake for 10 minutes at 400.
Combine the spices and sprinkle on the parsnips strips. Continue to bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir to make sure everything again is well coated.

Low Country Boil aka Frogmore Stew, Vegan Style

Low country boils are associated with South Carolina and Georgia, and being a native born southern girl, I grew up eating a lot of seafood. Knowing what I know now, how scientific studies have confirmed that fish have a complex nervous system and can feel physical pain, how fish immediately begin to suffocate when pulled from the water, and how the sudden pressure change can rupture their swim bladder, I just can't in good conscience justify eating seafood. Overfishing has created dead zones in the ocean, where no life exists. I can pluck an apple from a tree or a carrot from the ground; when we fish we deprive ocean mammals of their only source of food.

So how does one go about enjoying foods one grew up with, but in a cruelty-free and responsible manner?

Easy!

Low Country Boil aka Frogmore Stew, Vegan Style

12 c. water
1/4 c. Old Bay Seasoning
6 red potatoes, washed
6 ears of corn
2 cloves of elephant garlic, sliced
One package vegan sausage (I used Field Roast Mexican Chipotle), cut into one inch pieces

This recipe uses a pressure cooker.

Add water, Old Bay and potatoes to the pressure cooker and close the lid. Bring to pressure and let cook 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure.
Add the corn, garlic and sausage, close the lid and bring to pressure once again. Cook 5 minutes and let pressure come down on its own.

If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can add all of the ingredients to a Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook about 30 minutes. When potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, it's done.

Serve using a slotted spoon. It will be HOT! I added a little vegan butter to my potato and corn and nothing else.

Low country boils and Frogmore stew are the same dish - both have potatoes, corn and sausage. They differ from mine in that I don't include the shrimp. If you want to add some vegan shrimp to the dish, go ahead! I'm sure it will be absolutely delicious! I didn't have any on hand, so went with what I did, including the odd addition of the spicy Mexican Chipotle sausage. Any sausage would work.