Collard Greens

Befitting a month in which students and parents admittedly learned things they had never known, Barbara Moore's sixth-grade class at the Thomas E. Bowe School ended February with a celebration of African American culture and food. Led by master of ceremonies Brian Russell, the students performed for each other and a number of their parents, showing off what they had just learned during Black History Month. Many of the students had multiple roles. Not only did Toni DiBona, for example, play "Amazing Grace" on the flute, but she also had written a play that included scenes from the lives of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

FRIED CHICKEN, collard greens, barbecued ribs, macaroni and cheese . . . these are just a few of the down-home dishes associated with the African-American table. While Philadelphia isn't as famous for its soul-food restaurant scene as cities like Memphis, Tenn., Detroit and Kansas City, the roots of this vibrant culinary heritage run deep in a city that is home to some 44 percent African-American residents. A tradition that continues to thrive on Sunday supper tables all around Philadelphia, soul food is also served at stylish restaurants and small take-out joints around town.

SURROUNDED BY the fried chicken, burger and doughnut joints that make even the air seem fattening around SEPTA's Frankford Transportation Center, a farmers' market opened yesterday offering, to 16,000 daily commuters, just-picked peaches from the farmer who picked them and an abundance of fresh veggies. Open Tuesday afternoons at Bridge Street and Bustleton Avenue, the market features tomatoes, apples and those peaches from Hands On Earth Orchard, in Lititz, Lancaster County, whose farmer, Dave Fahnestock, promised this reporter that if I tried one of his Cortland apples, I'd never go back to Red Delicious.

Friday's lunch menu at the cafeteria of a big auto plant in Normal, Ill., offered meatloaf and egg rolls. It wasn't expected to cause a stampede by gourmets. But it was politically correct and sensitive. You never know where political correctness and sensitivity will rear its stern head. It's something new almost every day. This is how it came to the company cafeteria of the Diamond-Star Motors Corp. Some time ago, an executive asked the firm that operates the cafeteria to broaden the menu, offer more choices, provide some variety.

Anne Robinson cooked up some collard greens Sunday morning, turned off the gas and left her apartment to go to church in Manhattan. When she returned home at about 2 p.m., a security guard was standing outside her door, which had been smashed in. "When I got out of the elevator and saw my front door down, I thought it was a robbery," said Robinson, a NYNEX employee. "I thought someone broke into my apartment. " Someone did - the New York Police Department. It seems neighbors thought Robinson's collard greens smelled like a dead body.

When Joy's in the kitchen, she likes to dice onions and peppers for a recipe or run the mixer for a cake. And it's extra -special fun for her to be in the middle of the action when preparations for her favorite meal are in progress: collard greens, fish, macaroni and cheese, and sweet potato pie. Joy, 11, became a Girl Scout recently and looks forward to hiking. She sings and dances to music on the radio, and would like to join a church choir. She likes computer games, corn-rowing her doll's hair, doing 30-piece puzzles, riding a bicycle, bowling and playing tag. She also enjoys drawing and coloring.

When the garden was ripening, Shamar, 9, was always out there, looking at the fruits of his labor. The collard greens, red tomatoes and flowering marigolds were abundant. "Look at this!" he said, pride in his voice. He had helped his foster mother plant the flowers and vegetables. She says it's an example of how he has shown a lot of improvement in the last three years. "He does need to do things with somebody," she continues. "There's a problem with him focusing. " There is abuse and neglect in his background.

Never been to the city's Odunde Festival? There's a lot to entice you to this year's African American celebration of the new year on Sunday, June 13. For starters, a stellar entertainment lineup: the Haitian vodou jazz ensemble Boukman Eksperyans; Urban Bush Women, a music-movement-drama dance group; the Women's Sekere Ensemble, an a capella choir; the Persuasions of doo-wop fame, and others. Mouth-watering food: fried plantain, curried goat, barbecued ribs, collard greens, cornbread and other African and Caribbean specialties.

Here are a few recipes from World Cafe Live Chef Matthew Babbage. The spicy chicken dish was served for a Todd Rundgren show, while the bisque went down easy when the Subdudes were in town. When Canadian Dancehall Queen Simone performed here, smoked turkey wings and collard greens were on the menu. ROCKIN' CHILI PEPPER CHICKEN WITH PEANUT SAUCE One 2 1/2-3 pound chicken, backbone removed and wing tips cut off 1 cup chili oil with ground red pepper (recipe below)

So is it glorious or not? Under the most brutal tasting conditions, a Swiss army knife as a can opener and an office microwave, we set about answering that question on Glory Foods Inc., the canned soul-food line that's soon to be in Philadelphia. Those conditions, unfortunately, ruled out right from the start the Homestyle Corn Bread Mix in our taster's basket. So we turned our forks to the collard greens, pinto beans and sweet potatoes. The greens and the beans are seasoned to heat and eat, and it was immediately apparent that the sweet potatoes, seasoned with corn syrup and sugar, were waiting for that something extra to put them on the same plate.

SURROUNDED BY the fried chicken, burger and doughnut joints that make even the air seem fattening around SEPTA's Frankford Transportation Center, a farmers' market opened yesterday offering, to 16,000 daily commuters, just-picked peaches from the farmer who picked them and an abundance of fresh veggies. Open Tuesday afternoons at Bridge Street and Bustleton Avenue, the market features tomatoes, apples and those peaches from Hands On Earth Orchard, in Lititz, Lancaster County, whose farmer, Dave Fahnestock, promised this reporter that if I tried one of his Cortland apples, I'd never go back to Red Delicious.

FRIED CHICKEN, collard greens, barbecued ribs, macaroni and cheese . . . these are just a few of the down-home dishes associated with the African-American table. While Philadelphia isn't as famous for its soul-food restaurant scene as cities like Memphis, Tenn., Detroit and Kansas City, the roots of this vibrant culinary heritage run deep in a city that is home to some 44 percent African-American residents. A tradition that continues to thrive on Sunday supper tables all around Philadelphia, soul food is also served at stylish restaurants and small take-out joints around town.

Cindy Bly gardens in the tiny yard behind her rowhouse in Lawncrest. You wouldn't imagine she's, literally, in the produce business, but she is. This summer, Bly, a dispatcher in SEPTA's track department, is selling her kale, collard greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants to Weavers Way in Mount Airy. Every two weeks, the food co-op's refrigerated truck comes by to pick up the vegetables and drop off a check for $20 or so. "It's not the money. I just love to do this," says Bly, 51, who also donates vegetables to her uncle's senior citizen complex.

Don't be intimidated by dry beans. They are so affordable and healthy, it's worth learning how to use them. And that isn't hard. Place your dry beans in a large stockpot or bowl, add enough cool water to cover by several inches, then cover the bowl and forget about it overnight. In the morning, drain the beans and proceed with your recipe. It's really that simple.     1 teaspoon vegetable or canola oil 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1-pound bag dried, small red beans, soaked overnight and drained 4 1/2 cups water 1 pound andouille sausage Coarse salt and ground pepper In a large saucepan over medium, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Sauté until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

IT'S THE TIME for resolutions, and no doubt eating healthier and sticking to a budget top many lists. Chef Ken's Caf? on Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy might help you take baby steps in the right direction. Soul food is often considered a nutritional minefield, and while Chef Ken's cuisine is anything but austere, it does make healthier substitutions to lower saturated fat while offering a value priced meal. Owner and executive chef Ken Roberts says, "It's not what you cook, but how you cook it. " His menu includes standard dishes such as BBQ chicken, collard greens and fried whiting, however, he eschews animal fats in cooking and substitutes canola or olive oil. He cooks all of his vegetables without meat or animal fat so that they are appropriate for vegetarians and also eliminates all pork from the dishes in order to avoid any dietary restrictions.

Here are a few recipes from World Cafe Live Chef Matthew Babbage. The spicy chicken dish was served for a Todd Rundgren show, while the bisque went down easy when the Subdudes were in town. When Canadian Dancehall Queen Simone performed here, smoked turkey wings and collard greens were on the menu. ROCKIN' CHILI PEPPER CHICKEN WITH PEANUT SAUCE One 2 1/2-3 pound chicken, backbone removed and wing tips cut off 1 cup chili oil with ground red pepper (recipe below)

Winter greens provide as much or more of the antioxidants and other beneficial phytonutrients that have led nutritionists to tag blueberries and such as superfoods. They also are a rich source of Vitamins A, C and K. But be aware that bitter greens with leaves that are larger and thicker will need more cooking time than other greens, usually about 10 minutes more. Chopping the greens into thin strips (about 1-inch width) can help speed the process. Stronger flavors can be toned down by adding vinegar, lemon or other citrus, garlic and/or hot peppers to the seasoning.

The soul-food queen is in. Delilah Winder skipped work at her Reading Terminal and 30th Street Station stalls, she won't be going into her Old City restaurant, Bluezette, and she's not signing any copies of her new cookbook, Delilah's Everyday Soul (Running Press). Instead, she'll stay in the kitchen of her Voorhees home and show us how to make a true Southern Thanksgiving dinner. We'll start with a fresh, free-range turkey, add cornbread stuffing and giblet gravy. And we'll toss in some stories about the hard times that make us value the good times so much more.

Hollywood has always had a love affair with food. In fact, cinematic stories are sometimes built entirely around what pleases the palate, whether it be a single dish or a sumptuous feast. With that in mind, Wyncote resident Suzanne Monsalud created Silver Screen Cuisine, her latest cooking class for the Cheltenham Township Adult School. The four-session course will take students through a sampler of dishes and menus from films of the last 15 years that have focused on food, including Tortilla Soup, Big Night, Like Water for Chocolate and Soul Food.