With green being slang for cash, it makes perfect sense that we Southerners eat piles of cooked greens on New Year’s Day.  Figuratively crossing our fingers, we eat as many as we can hold, optimistic that economic fortune in the upcoming year is rolling our way.

Cooked green leaves are thought to look like folded bills, and thus are symbolic of prosperity. Collards are the Southern greens of choice, and we believe wholeheartedly that the more greens we eat, the more money we will make.  Most of us would not dream of starting off another year without a hopeful bowl of greens.

Whether you like them mild or spicy, you’ll find home-style recipes for cooked greens to suit your taste.  Quick Spicy Collards are flavored with ground fennel, fresh jalapeno, and a good amount of garlic, just right for a spicy kick-start to your new year.  Some folks think a little sugar in the collards makes their flavor milder; Gina’s Collard Greens are sweet, hot, and smoky cooked with crushed red pepper and a ham hock.  For a bowl of greens with perfectly seasoned pot liquor and a good corn bread soak, try the traditional Collard Greens cooked with smoked meat, seasoned salt, and hot sauce.

Good fortune to you!