Truth: I didn’t want to cook. I didn’t want to deal with a burner and a pot. I didn’t want to lug an extension cord that may or may not reach to the third annual Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival.

So after I told the co-founder, Boyzell Hosey, I would do a cooking demo I thought: how can I serve them raw? Or rather: how can I serve them fresh?

I have gotten a lot of mileage out of the recipe below and each time I make it it gets streamlined. That’s how I cook. I’m always trying to make cooking easier, faster, more pleasurable, less of a chore. I’m always on the lookout for “barriers to home cooking.”

Because cooking will save us, I believe, from chronic diseases of diabetes, heart disease and renal failure. My overarching mission is to get Americans back into the kitchen and to teach emerging generations how to cook.

Enjoy this recipe below. It’s definitely a keeper.

Attendees of the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival sampling the slaw.

Attendees of the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival sampling the slaw.

Peanut Butter Collard Green Slaw                                                  

For the Dressing:
½ cup crunchy peanut butter
2 tbs lime juice
2 tbs soy and vinegar
2 tbs honey or sugar
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tsp minced fresh ginger or 1 tbs ground                                                               
3 large cloves garlic, chopped

For the Slaw
3 cups finely sliced collard greens
3 cups shredded cabbage (red or green)
1 cup matchstick carrots
½ cup green onions, chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced

Place all slaw ingredients into a large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl mix all the dressing ingredients together. Poor dressing over slaw, mix well and serve.