Vacation Food

Hi, all. I was away visiting a friend for the past 5 days. We had such a great time - I have known her since 1st grade and she moved to North Carolina a few years back. I miss her terribly, but we visit back and forth frequently. That's how you know what a good friend is!

When I came home, I was treated to this sign made by my girls:

My husband picked me up at the airport and when I opened the door they all started screaming (in a good way). The people on the sidewalk were all laughing. It was a nice homecoming!

My friend is a foodie like me, although not vegan (she is a former vegetarian but converted back to meat when she got married). Anyway, we had loads of fun planning stuff we could all eat. We enjoyed this tomatillo salsa from Rick Bayless (roasted tomatillos, jalapenos, cilantro, chopped onion). It is delicious and I make it every time I go there. They can get authentic corn tortilla chips in their supermarket, while we can only get Tostitos and other fake stuff in my town!

I was thrilled to see prepared (washed and chopped) raw collard greens in their store. I hate dealing with those bunches of huge leaves I get at home! I made this collard green and corn dumpling dish that I love. My friends have lived in the south for 3 years and never had collards! The look on her husband's face as he tried them was priceless. I guess they are an acquired taste, as are most bitter greens. However, I was gratified when another friend, raised in South Carolina, came into the kitchen as I was cooking and said it smelled just like when her momma made collards (probably why she wouldn't even try them!) Oh, well, this Yankee loves her some collards!