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.

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.

Sylvia Woods, 86, founder of the famed Harlem soul food restaurant Sylvia's has died. Tren'ness Woods-Black, her granddaughter, said Mrs. Woods died Thursday at her home in Mount Vernon, N.Y. She had been dealing with Alzheimer's disease. Mrs. Woods and her husband, Herbert, who died in 2001, started Sylvia's Restaurant in 1962. The restaurant became a fixture, with tourists and locals going there for cornbread, ribs, collard greens, and other Southern cooking staples. Woods-Black said her grandmother had stepped down from running the restaurant when she was 80, leaving it in the hands of her children and grandchildren.

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.

Q: Do I really need milk for calcium? I hate the stuff but I don't want to do anything to compromise my health. - Ms. Conscientious about Calcium A: I don't think we ever "needed" cow's milk for general nutrition, let alone for calcium, contrary to popular belief. All mammals, including us, produce milk for their babies. As far as I know, we're the only mammals that drink another species' milk, like, forever. Also, I think it is interesting to note that osteoporosis is highest in industrialized nations where there is high consumption of animal protein, dairy products and milk.

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.

Sociable, happy, and energetic are words often used to describe Johnanya, a delightful 6-year-old with a bright smile and beautiful hazel eyes. She is in kindergarten, where her favorite subjects are reading and art. She gets along well with her teachers and classmates. Johnanya says that the things she likes to do most are laugh, play, and "be good. " She also likes a good joke. Johnanya enjoys making arts and crafts projects and listening to a good story. Her favorite foods include collard greens and green beans.

Q: Do I really need milk for calcium? I hate the stuff but I don't want to do anything to compromise my health. - Ms. Conscientious about Calcium A: I don't think we ever "needed" cow's milk for general nutrition, let alone for calcium, contrary to popular belief. All mammals, including us, produce milk for their babies. As far as I know, we're the only mammals that drink another species' milk, like, forever. Also, I think it is interesting to note that osteoporosis is highest in industrialized nations where there is high consumption of animal protein, dairy products and milk.

Samuel C. Alexander, 91, of Darby Township, a retired building inspector and ship's carpenter who was active in his community and church, died Sunday, Feb. 24, at an assisted living facility in Southfield, Mich. He had been in Michigan since 2011 to be close to a daughter and a son who live there. Mr. Alexander was a building inspector for 27 years in Darby Township. He inspected residential and commercial buildings, churches, and other structures, retiring in 1992. For part of that time, Mr. Alexander, a Navy veteran, also worked as a shipwright (ship's carpenter)

COLLARD-GREEN SMOOTHIE Cherron Perry of the Dandelion Bunch has a fresh take on collard greens: Cut 3 to 4 fresh collard-green leaves into strips. Put 1 cup cold water and stevia to taste in a blender. Add 2 handfuls of the greens and 1 to 2 frozen bananas, and blend until smooth. For a thicker consistency, add 1 or 2 cups ice cubes. BLACK-EYED PEA FRITTERS Head over to Geechee Girl Rice Cafe (6825 Germantown Ave.) for an awesome remake of black-eyed peas using a food processor, dried peas, onions, bell pepper, cornmeal and seasonings.

BEING BETTY JEAN Johnson's only child was an enviable place to be. "She never said 'No' to me," said her son, Barry Johnson. "She was a nice, caring lady. If she had it, she'd give it to you. " Betty Jean Reese Johnson, whose love of children made her a popular and giving worker at the day-care center of Simons Community Recreation Center, in West Oak Lane, a dedicated churchwoman and a champion cook in the Southern style, died Saturday. She was 74 and lived in the Andorra section of northwest Philadelphia.

OVER THE YEARS, Angel Morris has prepared Thanksgiving dinner for her twin sons, Markieff and Marcus, who both starred for Prep Charter. When they played at the University of Kansas, Angel lived out there and would cook for the whole team. Last year was the twins' rookie NBA season and because of the lockout they were home for Thanksgiving. But this year, with Marcus playing for Houston and Markieff for Phoenix, maintaining the tradition wasn't so easy. But Angel caught a break: "Keef" and his Suns teammates were in town for the holidays.

"Good Lord, good meat, c'mon, let's eat!" That abbreviated grace uttered over a plate of soul food is one of the few laugh lines from New York filmmaker Byron Hurt's new documentary, Soul Food Junkies . Scheduled to screen Sunday at the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia, Soul Food Junkies is a thoughtful, historical, and personal examination of the unhealthy effects of African American eating habits. Which is anything but funny. Too much fat and sugar? Yep. Obesity-causing and disease-inflicting?

Sylvia Woods, 86, founder of the famed Harlem soul food restaurant Sylvia's has died. Tren'ness Woods-Black, her granddaughter, said Mrs. Woods died Thursday at her home in Mount Vernon, N.Y. She had been dealing with Alzheimer's disease. Mrs. Woods and her husband, Herbert, who died in 2001, started Sylvia's Restaurant in 1962. The restaurant became a fixture, with tourists and locals going there for cornbread, ribs, collard greens, and other Southern cooking staples. Woods-Black said her grandmother had stepped down from running the restaurant when she was 80, leaving it in the hands of her children and grandchildren.

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.