New Year’s Day, Black-Eyed Peas, and Good Luck!

A big pot of goodness...and luck!

It is very unoriginal to write about making and eating black-eyed peas for New Year’s Day, but since I just started blogging I will take the liberty to do so. I’ve made black-eyed peas as long as I can remember, and so has my mom, and her mom too. And of course, I have to eat them on New Year’s Day for good luck.

On our birthday every year as children, each of us six kids would get to “order” what we wanted for dinner, and mom would make every effort to make that happen. I would always order black-eyed peas for my side dish. One year my mom accidentally burned them in the bottom of the pot, but I ended up loving them so much that way, that I asked her to “burn” them again the next year, as it gave them a delicious smoky flavor. Now I don’t recommend you burning these delectable legumes on purpose —  I recall it also ended up ruining one of her better pots.

I have never made black-eyed peas from a recipe, I just make them with gusto and lots of bacon, onion, jalapeno and love. Sometimes I make them in the slow cooker, or throw in a ham bone instead of bacon. They do take some time, but it’s worth it! They are great over rice as leftovers, too. Or cornbread — watch for that column soon!

Here’s wishing you good fortune in 2012.

Big Pot O’  Black-Eyed Peas

1 lb. dried black-eyed peas
Enough water to cover and soak
4 slices of thick-cut bacon
More water or chicken broth to cover 1 inch
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 or 2 jalapeños, seeded, stems removed, and chopped
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and black pepper, to taste

1. Soak dried peas in water overnight or at least 6 to 8 hours. Drain and rinse.
2. Cook bacon in soup pot or dutch oven. Drain on paper towels and reserve a tablespoon of bacon grease in the pot.
3. In the same pot, sauté the onions and jalapeños until tender. Crumble the bacon and stir into the pot with the garlic.
4. Add the peas and cover with enough water and/or combination of water and chicken broth to about one inch or more above peas.
5. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add more water or chicken broth as needed, unless you want to “burn” them!
6. When tender, take a potato masher or the back of a large spoon and squish some of them up to make the liquid creamy.
7. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Like most southern dishes, this always tastes better the next day!

Notes: Learning to cook in the high desert of the Pacific Northwest has been quite a challenge for me the past 18 years.  If you live at lower altitudes, you can do the “quick-cook” method where you don’t need to soak the peas.  Cook the bacon and vegetables in a separate skillet. In the soup pot, bring peas and liquid to a boil for 30 minutes, then reduce heat, add the other ingredients, and simmer until done.