Ring in the New Year with Black Eyed Peas! -- 3 easy slow cooker recipes
Published: Mon, 12/29/14
It's time to track down some black eyed peas. Even if you think you don't like beans. They come dry, in a bag, in the bean aisle at your grocery sore. Black Eyed Peas are supposed to bring luck and prosperity when eaten on New Year's Day, and I'd hate for you to miss out on luck and prosperity just because you think you might not like black eyed peas. I've become a sucker for all things superstitious the older I get. It's not that I can't think rationally or logically as much as once I know something is supposed to be good or bad luck it gets stuck into my brain and then I have to go with it. Because who am I to tempt fate? Way back in 2008 when I started A Year of Slow Cooking I didn't know what I was doing. My first attempt at making Black Eyed Peas wasn't all that successful --- thankfully I've learned an awful lot since then!
I now have a few FANTASTIC (if I do say so myself, and I totally do ;-) ---) recipes that you should make. Let's ring in 2015 with luck on our side!! QUICK NOTE: all of these recipes call for dry black eyed peas. Yes, there are some that come in a can, and yes you can use those. I would recommend the dry version, though, because the taste will be of the seasonings that you add to the pot, and you won't get that slimy and
over-salty taste you sometimes get from canned beans. The best way to cook dry beans is to soak them overnight in a bunch of water, and then drain and rinse well in the morning. If you don't have time to do this, that's okay! Simply place the
dry beans into a large stockpot with enough water to cover the beans by about 3 inches. Boil the beans rapidly, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and cover. Let the beans sit in the hot water for 1 hour before draining, rinsing, and using in the slow cooker.
Smoky Black Eyed Pea Soup. (click title for recipe) This was the soup that made me fall in love with black eyed peas. This soup serves 8 people, and has spicy habañero smoked sausage (I used chicken sausage) in it for a delicious smoky heat. The broth base is chicken broth, and it freezes and reheats well.
Traditional Hoppin' John . (click title for recipe) Hoppin' John has rice, black eyed peas, and collard greens (or kale) in it. I love this complete-meal-in-a-bowl, and I think you will, too. Hoppin' John is the traditional New Year's Day dish in the south and the green from the collard greens (or kale, or spinach is fine, too) symbolizes money.
NICE!
Black Eyed Pea Chili. (click title for
recipe) Chili is wonderful. If you are worried that you're not going to want the traditional smoky, sausage-y flavor of black eyed peas, but still feel like you should eat them because of the whole TEMPTING FATE thing, then this chili is for you. Because it's chili. It has all the normal things in it that chili has: ground meat, chili powder, cumin, tomatoes, corn...) and you can doctor it up with traditional chili toppings of cheese, salsa, sour cream, and avocado. This is actually what we are going to have this year, because we were tasked to bring chili to one of our New Year's parties. I hope you and your family have an absolutely wonderful New Year and the very best wishes to all in 2015. lots and lots of love, steph
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