First things first though. Shell your peas. Sometimes you'll find you've picked a pea a little early. No worries! Just snap them like you would a green bean. That's how you get the snaps in Black-eyed Peas with snaps! ( wink) After I shell the peas I'll give them a good rinse and then put the desired amount in a pot. I cut up onions add that to the pot.. A slice or (three hehehe) of bacon goes in along with some salt ((I use Tony's Seasoning a lot) and pepper. Cover the peas with water. You will want about twice as much water as it takes to cover the peas. Set them on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook at a low boil until the peas are soft. Usually 20-30 minutes will do it. That's it... nothing to it right? And they are soooo good.
You can really play around with this basic recipe. Sometimes I'll add garlic, or jalapeno peppers or both. . If you want, you can add tomato's as well. If you have ever bought a can of black-eyed peas at the store I have to warn you- These taste absolutely nothing like that. (Hey... I'm just sayin'...)
But in the end, whatever I add there can't be many things that bring back those memories of sitting on the back porch with my grandmother and shelling peas for supper.
I used to grow them and Indian corn. Fresh ground-fresh-baked cornbread and black-eyed peas - YUM!
ReplyDeleteNow you're talking Gorges. MMmmmm Mmmmm Cornbread n peas! Make ya wanna slap yo' mama.
DeleteSlap yo' mama"? Hope that is a good thing! Thanks for the recipe.:-}
DeleteYour black eyed peas look delicious. I'll have you know, I've never eaten any of them while growing up.
ReplyDeleteUhmmm... Sandy? You poor poor thing. hahahaaaa It's time you tried you some southern goodness for sure. I can't help it if you grew up north of the Mason Dixon line.
Delete:-)~
We eat a ton of pinto beans. They are as easy to make as that and so adaptable to a billion different meals.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if we can grow them here, but I know we can grow those scrumptious black eyed peas - and just seeing them with the green beans makes me want to lick the screen. YUM.
And you aren't kidding. Canned BEP suck. So do canned pinto/refried beans compared to homemade.
Okay. It's official. I'm hungry. What time's dinner?
Hey Skippy! I sure hear you on the pinto's. We love them too. LOL If SHTF we'll be ok with beans and rice. Shoot we have them at least once a week, and have them as the main dish a bunch. You kill me with the "lick the screen". I'll have to remember that one
DeleteDinner's on around 6. Would you like some Ice tea with a sprig of mint?
That's (almost) the same way my Grandma cooked them. She would render the bacon a bit & then add the onions to soften & get a bit caramalized then add the peas & water. I sometimes add a splash of hot sauce to finish them. While I toss a bit of salt in w/the onions I never ever salt the bean until they are done. I almost always have a white or yellow onion diced to put on top when serving ... Yum.
ReplyDeleteYou know I've always heard that about salt. I listen about half the time. I've never noticed the difference in the peas. Probably just me. We like either green onions or a nice wedge of onion here to go with the beans too!
DeleteBlack-eyed peas are my favorite pea/bean. However, I do not cook them like you do. My NY-er ex refused to touch them. Now I want Blacketed pea. They are disgusting from the can.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
DeleteI'd love to hear how you cook them. I'm always up for trying something new ya know!
Hi8 Linda. Maybe your ex just never had them cooked right. Don't you just hate it when folks say that. I don't like liver no matter WHO cooks it or how its made. LOL!!!
DeleteMy peas were delicious. Ex said his grandmother told him that only poor people ate black peas. Yes, the family had image problems. I cooked them with a piece of raw bacon, salt and pepper. First I boiled them three minutes, let them set for an hour, drained and cooked. Now, I add nothing to my blackeyed peas, not even salt. I love them. Friend had problem with my bep and salted them. Now, he just eats them.
DeleteMy mother added nothing but pork, salt, and pepper.
None of us added anything like tomatoes or onions. That is another recipe--hopping john.
Liver? I love love love liver, only calf liver cooked with onions and gravy like my mother made it.
I do love growing blackeyes! Once they decide to take off they just keep going and going. This year I had a bunch of zinnias volunteer where I planted the blackeyes. What a beautiful messy sight!
ReplyDeleteInevitably, when I finally get around to pulling them up, I'll miss some dry pods and what do you know? A month later I'll have a volunteer crop of blackeyes.
Do you freeze them, too? Such a taste of freshness on a cold winter evening.
Don't you just love zinnia's? I've got a bunch of them planted around this year. The butterfly's adore them which makes it even easier for me to love them too.
DeleteI've been known to freeze my peas but generally I try not to freeze veggies that I can put up another way. My freezer space is really limited and I'd rather use the space for meats and the odds and ends that can't be canned or dried.