Collards In Mustard Cider Sauce fat-free

COLLARDS IN MUSTARD CIDER SAUCE fat-free

There aren’t many sauces you can make fat-free that will stand up against the fatted version. This is one of them. All added flavors and textures compliment the greens and vice versa. I just happened to have cider on hand, because it’s Fall in America where I happily live. My status means nothing. Location, location, location is everything. I don’t want anybody’s life, money or fame. I can get my own in my own way on my own terms. I don’t buck the system or game it, or corrupt it. I work with it. Everybody wants a free pass with nothing to offer. Not me. I raise myself. I don’t need somebody else to do it for me. 

Enjoy this unique way of serving collard greens. Holidays are coming up. Surprise family and guests with something familiar yet different! Serve over a combination of white and sweet mashed potatoes, or seasoned long grain rice. You decide!

Makes 9-1/2 cups 

2 fresh bunches collard greens – remove soiled, bruised outer leaves; cut out center vein/stalk up to tip separating halves of each leaf; wash well, then cook in lots of salted boiling water, submerged, till tender, but still bright green – no more than 10 minutes – lift out of water to colander, drain, stack/pile on board and cut into approx. 1 inch square blocks

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1 jumbo red onion, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch squares (don’t go tiny on me)

8 oz. fresh white button mushrooms, washed well, drained and quartered or cut into 6 pieces each, depending on size

2 t. pink Himalayan salt

2 c. canned vegetarian baked beans – I used Bush’s brand Vegetarian Bean Pot fat-free (this bean is good to go right out of the can)

cooked/cut collards

3 c. apple cider (not apple juice)

1/2 c. dijon mustard

plus 1 c. cider mixed with 1/4 c. cornstarch till dissolved

2 t. garlic powder

2 t. dry mustard

1/4 t. red cayenne pepper

fresh grind black pepper to taste

1 t. additional pink salt plus to taste

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In extra-large skillet over medium heat, place onion. Saute (with no oil) till some edges lightly brown.

Add mushrooms and salt, then saute till wilted and lightly caramelized. Stir often to prevent burning. No oil please.

Add canned baked beans and stir to distribute.

Add cooked/cut collards. Stir well to distribute.

Whisk 3 cups cider and mustard in separate bowl, then add to skillet, stirring to distribute evenly.

Bring veggies and sauce to a slow boil. This won’t take long.

Add the dissolved cornstarch in the last cup of cider, stirring till thickened.

Add garlic powder, dry mustard, red cayenne pepper, plus black pepper and salt to taste. Stir well.

Reduce heat to low, then simmer till the thickening has completed. If you want to thin it a little, let it set for a while or pack in refrigerator for service later. You’ll find as it sets, some of the liquid from the veggies seeps into the sauce, thinning it just a bit.

Serve over anything you want to serve it over. I like mashed potatoes – sweet and white combo (yams and russets to be precise).

Variation: Fry up a package of veggie hot dogs or veg sausage, slice into disks, then add to the greens and beans, and heat through. Serve with potatoes or rice and a side salad to make a large meal.

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Notes: When sauteeing the onion and mushroom in a dry skillet, you don’t need to add any saute liquid, since the liquid from the fresh mushrooms will provide enough to see these mushrooms through to where we want them to be – tender.

Apple juice will not suffice. Use only fresh cider. Pasteurized is okay, but with no additives. We need the sting of the cider to make this sauce sparkle.

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