Tuesday, January 1, 2008

for luck

Happy new year everyone!


New Year's Day Black Eyed Peas

1 8oz/227 gram container of Sprouted Black Eyed Peas (I get them fresh from Whole Foods. They taste better that way. You can also do dried peas soaked in water overnight, but I can't remember the amount just now.)
1 small Onion coarsely chopped
2 strips of Bacon cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 Bay Leaf
generous sprinkling of dried Oregano
Freshly crushed black pepper and sea salt to taste

Rinse the peas in cold water and drain. Throw all the ingredients into a small pot, saucepan, whatever. Fill with water to just cover the peas. Bring everything to a boil on high heat and then turn the flames down to low. Cook covered until peas are tender. Adjust seasoning as needed (more oregano, salt or pepper).

I like to eat this over steamed rice. But it's also tasty on its own. Make it for yourself and your loved ones on new year's day. Be sure everyone has at least one pea (even if they are picky eaters and don't like vegetables or beans) cause it's good luck for the rest of the year.

(I'm going to backtrack now and post stuff from the last week. Note to self: download photos more frequently than you have been.)

2 comments:

meteowrite said...

Hey we had black eyed peas for New Years too!!! We also had cabbage (in the form of cole slaw) which is apparently for wealth! Glad to know we'll be lucky together in 2008. :)

jean said...

Yes, I think it's a new year's day tradition for us southerners. The other day I heard someone say it's black eyed peas for good luck and greens for fortune. That (and the cole slaw) is a new one to me. I'm amused by traditions such as these. Apparently in Italy, it's red (or yellow?) lentils (because they're shaped like coins). And I think Andres said that Colombians peel grapes on new year's eve for luck, but I never got the full story on that one.