pot likker and corn bread

.I love this group because I learn something about food every day.  I am from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin.  Used to live in a little house heated with wood and a shallow well...seriously!  We lived between a river, a lake and a state forest.  I have piles of snow in my front yard at least 4 ft. high.  Nope....I had no clue of what a pot   likker was so I googled it.  Sounds good to me.  We used to use the water from vegetables in gravies and soups.  We never threw it out either because of the vitamins in the water.  We didn't cook "a mess of greens" (that is what google said you call greens).  Perhaps because the climate up north was tough to grow and store greens year round.  Now with transportation we have greens in the store.  It sounds like the broth was spicier than our salt and pepper veggie water.   I do add a can of salsa to my veggie soup for an added kick...my grandmother wouldn't have though.  I guess there was a debate in 1931.  One politician said he crumbled his cornbread into his pot  likker and the other said it was best to dunk into the pot  likker.  What do you ladies do?  While we're on the subject how do you cook greens?  Sounds like some of you use smoked pork or turkey and hot spices or vinegar in the broth...is that right?  Do you eat them as a side?  My mom used to mince bacon and cook it and then cook spinach in in the fat and cooked bacon.  We only "wilted" the spinach and served it as a salad with hot bacon dressing.  Sounds like some good childhood memories are brought back with pot  likker.  I hope you make it for your kids too!  Tri    

Moma always cooked huge pots of greens with some sort of salt cured fat meat. Then she'd add potatoes and cornmeal dumplings to the pot likker as they cooked. She also cooked Cabbage, Fresh green beans and MayPeas the same way. She called all of them Boiled Dinners. Not the healthiest way to cook vegetables but the meat was always something that was breaded and fried - chicken, pork chops, seafood ---Crisco was a staple in our pantry when I was growing up.

I won't touch a boiled Cabbage but if you sauté it in a little olive oil with onions I'll eat it. As far as the other greens I'm still experimenting but I seem to like them best sautéed like the cabbage with some onions and garlic. When I really want them southern style (fat meat and boiled to death) I opt to boil them with half water and half chicken broth. This gives them loads of flavor without the guilt of the fat meat.

I was amazed at the good memories that the original subject brought to mind. Like the smell of my Grandmothers's houses when they cooked greens. One had a kerosene stove for heat so that mingled with the strong smell of the greens is very memorable. My other Grandmother always had something cooking..usually something sweet. And there was always a pot of coffee in the percolator on top the stove. I'm sure it was sludge by the time evening rolled around but those smells......good times.

My dad and mom were both good cooks.  I remember coming home from school and my dad would have a huge pot of turnip greens with a slab of salt meat in the pressure cooker cooking, fried pork chops cooked slow and tenderized in the pressure cooker earlier, I would put on a pone of corn bread and make some sweet tea when I got home from school.  By the time everything was ready, mom would be home from working at the Cartier's underwear plant in town.  It is one of my favorite meals that I always remember my dad by.  I would crumble my bread in the pot likker and it was wonderful. 

Thanks for reminding me of a perfect meal at home.  I missed them but they are wonderful to remember.

Good times!