QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK

QUESTION: How do we go about getting recipes for cooking both Kale and Collard Greens?

ANSWER:I just typed in "cooking collards" and got more information than the law allows!!! However, if you need a recipe for cooking collards and have not grown up eating collards, YOU AIN'T GONNA LIKE COLLARDS!!!!
Here are some "good" collard recipes I found:

It will take approximately 3/4 to 1 bunch of collard greens per person. They need to be washed, leaf?by?leaf, to get all the dirt and grit off of them. Then remove the thick stem. You may use a knife or you may tear it out.

After they have been well washed, and stemmed, either tear them into bite?sized pieces or cut them into ribbons in a rather wide chiffonade.

The old?fashioned and least healthy way to cook them, is to first render salt pork or bacon over low heat. Add in 1 large chopped onion, and saute until soft. The healthier way is to use a Tablespoon or two of olive oil and a splash of liquid smoke. Add the onions as above.

Add in the collards and about 1 cup of water. Season with some red pepper (cayenne) black pepper and if you like garlic, some garlic powder. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook for 30?45 minutes or until the collards are tender. Some people prefer to season them with small, hot red peppers instead of the cayenne pepper.

If they won't all fit in your pot, you may add them in bunches. Collards will quickly diminish in size, this is why you need so many. Depending on the time of the season the cooking time will vary, but in Southern Cooking, they can't be overcooked.

AND

you should remember that collards is a member of the cabbage family
although it is much lighter tasting than cabbage. Never buy even slightly yellowed leaves and keep them, unwashed, cool in the refrigerator...don't let them dry out either, if you aren't using them that
day lightly wrap them in a damp paper towel inside a plastic bag with air holes.

Here's a quick recipe for collard green custard ..

GREEN TIMBALE
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 pound collard greens?stems and leaves chopped separately?makes about 2 cups leaves, 1 ½ cup stems
1/4 cup milk
½ cup heavy or whipping cream
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
½ cup grated jarlsberg cheese
5 eggs, lightly beaten

1. melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium?low heat. add the onion; cook 2 minutes. stir in the collard stems; cook, covered, until tender, about 15 minutes. stir in the collard leaves, cook, covered, until tender, about 3 minutes. raise the heat to medium?high and remove the cover. cook, tossing constantly, until all liquid has evaporated. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. F. melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of the butter and add it along with all the remaining ingredients to the green mixture in the bowl. mix well and pour into a buttered 1 ½ quart souffle dish. place the dish in a roasting pan. pour boiling water in the pan to half the depth of the souffle dish. bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the dish from the pan. let stand 10 minutes.

3. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the souffle dish and carefully invert it onto a shallow serving dish.

serves 6

QUESTION: I need to move my roses to a sunnier spot. I live in Dimmit County, Carrizo Springs and would like to know when is the best time for me to do this and do I need to prune them or do something special prior to moving them?

ANSWER:Roses should be moved when the plant is dormant and before spring growth begins. In your area that would be in January. After moving cut two?thirds of the top of the plant away to compensate for root loss. Fertilize in March.

QUESTION: I live on the zone 9 to 10 border (Okeechobee, Florida). Please advise the correct procedure for successful propagation of oleander. I have not had any luck getting cuttings to root (even with rootone).

ANSWER:There is more information on asexual propagation of plants on PLANTanswers at site:

http://aggie?horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/misc/asexualpropagation.html

but I have talked with several oleander growers who take cuttings of oleanders and allow them to root in water before planting the rooted cutting in a soilless mix or a permanent location. You will have to change the water ever several days to keep it from becoming stagnant. The procedure may take over a month. The use of a rooting hormone such as Rootone or Hormondin will speed the process.

QUESTION: I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast -- about one block from the Gulf. The meat of my pecans has a whitish cover on it. This has always been since I lived here. What can I do to eliminate this problem? I have never done anything to this tree except about 6 years ago I used some fertilizer spikes around the tree. I do not water, prune or spray. Also, the bark on the tree seems to be splitting. I know nothing about caring for it.

ANSWER:The whitish cover you describe is most often attributed to tree stress in late September and October. Such tree stress is usually related to lack of water, but also can be from having too many pecans on the tree. Certain varieties also have the problem worse than other varieties; Stuart, Imperial and Mohawk are some of the worst ones. Probably the best thing you can try to do would be to water in late season, namely September and October.

The splitting of the bark is associated with aging of the tree and should not cause alarm.

Detailed information on home pecan management is outlined at the following Plantanswers site:
http://aggie?horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/pecan/pecan.html

QUESTION: My grandmother has talked about these mushrooms, but I have looked everywhere in my library and on the web and have found no information. What is it, where did it come from, how it is grown, where can I find it, what nutritional value does it have, and how do I prepare it?

ANSWER:porcini [pohr?CHEE?nee] Also called cèpes, these delicious, earthy treasures are members of the Boletus edulis species of wild mushroom. Porcini are also known as Boletes and Steinpilze and you may have more success search the InterNet for the name Boletes.

QUESTION: I have a small clipping from a sentimental rose bush. I have had it sitting in water for approximately two months in my kitchen window sill. It has started to get white bulges on the bottom which I presume is the roots. When should I plant this clipping into soil? I will pot it and keep inside for winter. I live in the St. Louis Area. What kind of potting soil should I use?

ANSWER:The swelling a the bottom of the cutting is callus which will soon differentiate into roots ?? roots will sprout from the "white bulges on the bottom". You can speed this rooting by dipping the callus area in a rooting hormone such as Rootone or Hormondin. DO NOT take the cutting out of the water until roots have formed and are several inches long. Then purchase a loose potting mix, moisten the mix ?? not wet but moist, and CAREFULLY cover the root system with the moist mix in a small pot. Water around the plant to settle the mix around the root system immediately after potting but then water very sparingly until the roots spread into the mix. Water enough to keep the mix moist. The hardest job you will have is providing enough artificial light indoors. You might want to get a Grow?Lux bulb and put it within an inch or two of the rooted cutting to provide enough footcandles of light so it will continue to grow. More information and tips on rooting can be found at:

http://aggie?horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/misc/asexualpropagation.html

QUESTION: While picking our pecans yesterday, my husband and I got our hands stained a dark brown. Do you know of anything that will remove these stains. The stains were caused by the liquid of the outer green shell (shuck?). Please let us know if you have any suggestions.

ANSWER:As my grandmother used to tell her kids, Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to get black on their hands from pecans. So you should feel privileged to wear such distinct markings, much like the pecan itself. Far too many people do not get to experience such an event. I hope I have made you feel better about having such stains, because there is NOT a thing you can do about them. Nothing short of maybe sulfuric acid will take it off and there are no guarantees. Fortunately it wears off in a matter of days, usually a week at the most. The thing I have found to be most effective is to play in the dirt. The abrasive action of the soil speeds up the "wearing off" process. So realize you are in good company, relax, and before you know it it will be gone, until next year!!