Born in 1902, Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes grew up in Lawrence, Kansas and several other Midwestern communities at the turn of the century. In his autobiography he talks about his aunt and uncle Reed who kept a family garden stocked with among other items collard greens, peas, corn, and apples. Hughes recalled that his aunt cooked wonderful “greens with corn dumplings” along with “fresh peas and young onions right out of the garden,” he says. “There were hoe-cake, and sorghum molasses, and apple dumplings with butter sauce.” You can purchase many of the produce plants mentioned here as organic and heirloom starter plants for your family garden for between $3.00 and $4.00 dollars. Here is a Kansas greens with corn dumpling recipe that goes well with this story.
