Free Range Friday - New Year's Day 2010

I don't know HOW I could have forgotten about black-eyed peas for New Year's Day...but I did, until just now (I'm home from the cart because Culebra is hungover and closed for the day, basically...there are a few people tottering around and no doubt many at the beach but with everything closed but myself and Mamacita's - just like last year - and the Panaderia and Happy Landing's...I gave a wave and gone about an hour ago).

 But now that I've remembered and there is no way to purchase black eyed peas anywhere and less desire to cook them, I will happily steal a recipe for you while incorporating my own additions.

First, a little history...it's painless and I learned a lot I never knew before. Hope you do too!

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Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity.
The "good luck" traditions of eating black eyed peas at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, are recorded in the Babylonian Talmud (compiled ~500 CE), Horayot 12A: "Abaye [d. 339 CE] said, now that you have established that good-luck symbols avail, you should make it a habit to see Qara (bottle gourd), Rubiya (black-eyed peas, Arabic Lubiya), Kartei (leeks), Silka (either beets or spinach), and Tamrei (dates) on your table on the New Year." However, the custom may have resulted from an early mistranslation of the Aramaic word rubiya (fenugreek).^[3]
A parallel text in Kritot 5B states that one should eat these symbols of good luck. The accepted custom (Shulhan Aruh Orah Hayim 583:1, 16th century, the standard code of Jewish law and practice) is to eat the symbols. This custom is followed by Sephardi and Israeli Jews to this day.
In the United States, the first Sephardi Jews arrived in Georgia in the 1730s and have lived there continuously since. The Jewish practice was apparently adopted by non-Jews around the time of the American Civil War.
In the Southern United States,^[4] the peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring (such as bacon, ham bones, fatback, or hog jowl), diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar.
The traditional meal also features collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.^[5] Cornbread also often accompanies this meal.
These "good luck" traditions supposedly date back to the Civil War, when Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, typically stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock, and destroyed whatever they couldn't carry away. At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and field corn suitable only for animal fodder, and didn't steal or destroy these humble foods.^[6]

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 So, yo, dude! You out there with the rebel flag sticker on your truck! Thank the Jews for your dinner today...

Second there is the fast way (canned or frozen black eyed peas), or the slow way, dried black eyed peas - using a crock pot is ideal for this dish if you go that way. You decide how much time you want to invest in your good luck dish.

Now, how to fix them! Like potato salad, there are plenty of ways people swear are the *only* way to fix black-eyed peas. I like to keep it simple and apparently so do a lot of other people.

This one is from CD Kitchen and there are only a few things I'd do differently***.

Best Ever Plain Ole Black-Eyed Peas
CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com
Serves/Makes: 4    |   Difficulty Level: 3    |   Ready In: > 5 hrs

Ingredients:
1 pound Black-eyed peas
Water for soaking
6 cups Water
4 slices Bacon, cut up
1 tablespoon Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon White wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Garlic salt

Directions:
Sort and wash peas; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water 2 inches above peas; let soak 8 hours. Drain.

Add water and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours.

***What I'd do differently. I'd leave out the sugar. Not because of calories but who needs it in there? I'd use ham hocks instead of bacon. Why? Because of the bone and marrow taste and the saltiness of the ham (when the meat is falling off the bone, you know it is ready). If you are doing the quickie version, it won't matter though, there won't be enough time for it to matter! But I'd still fry the bacon crispy before I added it...  I'd use garlic cloves instead of garlic powder and I'd use a lot of it. Oh, and add one large onion, diced. And what about hot sauce? Now we're talking black eyed peas!

Cornbread is god's gift to black-eyed peas, partially because of the taste combo, but also, black-eyed peas aren't pretty and the yellow of the cornbread helps a lot in presentation (which is a part of the meal, no matter how simple). It's simple to make too. There are even some not so bad package mixes without any bad things in them; check them out.

People also often eat cooked greens with this dish, collards, turnip, etc. to attract money.  Go ahead, but don't expect me to help you. They are right up there with the other *things I won't do for money*.

Who knew making some good luck for yourself could be so easy??? Keep your eyes open this year - you never know where good luck may be hiding just for you and yours.

Have a fabaceous Friday! Do something felicificative (look 'em up, let the dictionary be your friend this year!)