African slaves often had to feed their families with less desirable ingredients, yet they took those scraps and turned them into the delicacies we now know as soul food.

	Martha Rial, Post-Gazette A soul food-inspired dinner prepared by Sharita Gray features fried pork chops, collard greens garnished with red peppers, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes and macaroni and cheese served with cornbread. Click photo for larger image. Related article With humble grits, tradition turns trendy

It's not uncommon for friends and relatives to drive across state lines for a good home-cooked soul food meal.

Just as the slaves celebrated the end of a long work day with "good times" food, African-American families still gather as often as they can over dishes such as black-eyed peas, hot corn bread, candied yams, macaroni and cheese, ox tails and chitterlings to celebrate and bond with family and friends.

Every ethnic group has what it calls "soul food." These are soothing comfort foods that rekindle warm memories of family gatherings at the dinner table. However, in America, the term "soul food" most commonly refers to traditional African-American cuisine.

Soul food is a triumph of the unconquerable spirit of African-Americans, which is celebrated each February during Black History Month.

Slaves were forced to eat the animal parts their masters threw away. They cleaned and cooked pig intestines and called them "chitterlings." They took the butts of oxen and christened them "ox tails." Same thing for pigs' tails, pigs' feet, chicken necks, smoked neck bones, hog jowls and gizzards.

Today, all of those parts -- including smoked neck bones, ham hocks, bacon, fat back and salt pork -- are still included in soul food menus, either as main dishes or to flavor foods such as vegetables and dried beans and peas.

Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Collard greens are an essential part of a soul food meal. Click photo for larger image.

These are the kind of vittles to indulge in like there's no tomorrow and then look forward to the leftovers because they're even better the next day. Potluck gatherings take it one step further because there's a variety of dishes. People usually take pride in a dish they've mastered because the recipe is a long family tradition.

Soul food is a proud legacy blacks have nurtured, maintained and improved upon throughout the years. One of the crowning achievements in soul food history occurred when the dish of macaroni and cheese was added to the soul food menu.

During slavery, the meal ingredients were mainly leftover animal parts, dried beans, vegetables, wheat and flour. Cheese was expensive, and most blacks did not have access to it. As a culture, African-Americans made mac and cheese a creation of our own in some ways, because we do it so differently from other cultures. When blacks prepare macaroni and cheese, you can slice it into a square and hold it like a piece of cake.

One of the best things about soul food is the endless variety. But as far as my girlfriend, Sharita Gray, and I are concerned, there's no such thing as a soul food dinner that does not include collard greens.

You can have an absolutely world-class meal of fried chicken, pork chops, fried cabbage, fried okra, rutabagas, creamed corn, even a whole turkey if it happens to be Thanksgiving. But it can't be 100 percent certified soul food unless the menu includes some type of greens.

Preferably, collard greens.

When it comes to greens, there are three varieties: mustards, turnips and collards. With all due respect to mustard and turnip lovers, we're most fond of collards. Especially the ones we don't have to cook ourselves. Because as good as collards are, they can be a labor-intensive dish to prepare.

A large quantity of greens to serve a family is commonly referred to as a "mess o' greens." The most common way to cook greens is to boil or simmer them slowly with a piece of salt pork or ham hock for a long time until they are soft. Usually greens are served with freshly baked corn bread and a dash of hot sauce.

According to folklore, collards served with black-eyed peas and hog jowl on New Year's Day promises a year of luck and financial prosperity. Hanging a fresh leaf over your door will ward off evil spirits. And a fresh leaf placed on your forehead promises to cure a headache.

The aroma of "soul food" can fill the house and let the neighbors know that a big pot is cooking. But today, many people are just too busy to spend hours in the kitchen cooking up the traditional foods of black America.

Our ancestors ate soul food every day and worked off all those calories in the cotton fields. As much as we love it, when we eat soul food today, for the most part, it's a special occasion.

A word of warning: Soul food is not for anyone who's trying to watch his or her weight. But if your metabolism can stand a steady diet of soul food, modern technology makes it much more convenient for preparation on a daily basis with all the new crock pots and roasters.

Soul food is usually slow food. But it's always worth the wait.

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COLLARD GREENS

• 2 smoked ham hocks (or any smoked meat)
  
• 7 cups of water
  
• Soul food seasoning, to taste (can be found in ethnic aisle of local grocery stores)
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 2 medium onions, chopped
  
• 4 bunches fresh collard greens, cleaned
  
• 2 tablespoons of white vinegar or any jarred pepper juice

After rinsing ham hocks, add to large pot with water and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Add soul food seasoning to pot as desired with salt, pepper, and chopped onions.

Pick stems from greens and wash several times in cold water until greens are clean (when water is no longer dirty and greens are no longer gritty). Cut greens up and place in boiling water. Add vinegar.

Reduce heat and let simmer for about 3 to 4 hours or until well cooked and most of the water is cooked away.

Sharita Gray

BLACK-EYED PEAS

• 4 cups fresh black-eyed peas, shelled (dried black-eyed peas can also be used after soaking overnight in water)
  
• 4 cups water
  
• Salt pork (sliced or cut into pieces)
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a 3 to 4 quart pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours until tender.

Serve black-eyed peas with corn bread or rice.

Sharita Gray

MACARONI AND CHEESE

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
  
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
  
• 3 eggs
  
• 1/4 pound butter
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  
• 3 to 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni until almost done. Drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add milk, beaten eggs, butter, salt and pepper to saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly so mixture does not stick to pan. Add half of the cheese to the milk mixture.

In a greased casserole dish, add macaroni and pour cheese mixture over macaroni. Blend in all but 3/4 cup of remaining cheese, then top noodle mixture with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Add a few dollops of butter over cheese and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour until casserole is firm.

Sharita Gray