Our Bible starts in Genesis: “In The beginning God created…”

He separated salt water from fresh water, He made dry land and planted a garden, and He made animals and fish. He did all of this before he made man. Think about that for a moment. He created and provided food that we would need even before we were born. So many foods are powerful when eaten raw, but still good for us when cooked and seasoned to taste. Turnip, mustard and collard greens are some of those healthful, but tasty vegetables God gave us to eat.

Growing up on a farm in south Alabama, we always had a garden with lots of vegetables. One of the first vegetables we picked from the garden was “greens.” Collards, turnips and mustards were always best eaten fresh from the garden. If not fresh, then frozen and lastly canned.

This recipe for turnip greens is basic and simple. Enjoy as you pick young tender green leaves from your garden.

Turnip greens

Ingredients

• A very large bunch of turnip greens
• 2 cups water
• 1 large onion, chopped
• ½ pound ham bits and pieces
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

If you are purchasing turnip greens and not picking them from your garden, you will need 3 bunches of greens. When available, I like to combine turnips and mustards.

Remove stems from the greens and wash several times. Chop greens and put in a large pot. Add water, ham, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer on low heat until tender, approximately 1 hour. Add water if needed to keep from cooking dry. Serve with cornbread.

From the scriptures

Spiritual food is essential for all of us, as well as physical food. We should nourish our mind and feed our spirit daily just as we feed our body. To memorize a weekly Bible Verse is a fabulous spiritual food. Try it, and you will see how easy it is to memorize scripture.

Our memory verse for this week is Genesis 1:12 (NIV):“The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kind. And God saw that it was good.”