BLACK-EYED PEAS AND CORN BREAD

Eating black-eyed peas at the start of the New Year is suppose to give you good luck according to those in the know who live in the southern U.S. states.   I am all for more good luck so I decided to make a dish with black-eyed peas this weekend.  Black-eyed peas is not a bean that I gravitate to on a routine basis.  I tend to cook more with chick peas, lentils, romano, black beans, kidney beans, yellow and green peas and northern beans.  Black-eyed peas is a bean popular in the southern U.S.  Why I have black-eyed peas in my pantry is due to a shopping spree several years ago at a local health food store.  I had the urge to buy 12 different kinds of beans in order to make a mixture up for soups.   I now have a collection of many kinds of beans.   The recipe I am providing below was interesting to me as it requires ham and I still have rosemary ham left-over from using some for the turkey stuffing for Christmas.  I did not make this recipe spicy as I didn't think cumin and cayenne pepper would go with rosemary.

What I probably enjoyed even more with this meal is the cornbread.  This cornbread tastes wonderful and the recipe is a keeper.  I even had a slice this morning for breakfast with melted cheddar cheese and tomato on top.

SLOW COOKER BLACK-EYED PEAS

INGREDIENTS:

4 ½ cups water

2 cubes chicken bouillon or 2 tsp of powder

2 cups of dried black-eyed peas

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

5 ounces diced ham

4 slices bacon

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the water into a slow cooker, add the bouillon cubes, and stir to dissolve.  In a frying pan, fry the bacon until crisp and chop into small pieces.  Add to the slow cooker.  Leave some of the bacon fat in the frying pan and sauté the onions, celery and garlic until golden brown.  Add to the slow cooker.  Add the remaining ingredients - black-eyed peas, bell pepper, ham, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker; stir to blend. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours until the beans are tender.  Serves 8.  The black-eyed peas do not require pre-soaking.

OPTIONS TO MAKE THE DISH SPICY:

1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp cumin

CORNBREAD

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour

1 ½ cups cornmeal

2 tbsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar or splenda

2 eggs

¼ cup oil or melted butter

2 ½ cups buttermilk or sour milk (directions below)

1 cup corn kernals, optional

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped, optional

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar.  In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, oil and buttermilk.  Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and combine.  Add the corn and jalapeno if using.  Stir until all of the ingredients are moistened.  Transfer the batter to an oiled 13 X 9 inch baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes.  Cool for 20 minutes before cutting into wedges or squares.  Makes one large cornbread.

TO SOUR MILK:

For each cup of milk, add 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar to the measuring cup.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes before adding to the recipe.

Recipe from Bonnie Stern “Friday Night Dinners”