Near Pea Crisis Averted!

As you probably know, I am originally from the Deep South in the US (scenic Gainesville, Florida, as I like to remind folks). My parents were full of southern traditions, and one of those was to have a delicious New Year’s meal of black-eyed peas, rice, collard greens and cornbread each year. Yes, tradition holds that the beans and greens bring you bucks and also some luck, but my main reason to do it is that I just LOVE this meal. (I looked it up on Wikipedia (source of the photo at left) and discovered that eating the black-eyed-peas started ages ago, and as recorded in the Talmud in 500 BCE. So it’s also a Jewish tradition. Well, what do you know?

Of course, I intended to honor this tradition this year. We headed out to the grocery store last night after work, intending to get those lovely fresh peas they always have. There weren’t any. But I did get some pre-cleaned collard greens, even though that’s cheating. I really am willing to spend a half hour chopping and de-veining greens. So, off we went to the dried bean department. Um. There were about 6 dozen packs of navy beans, some green peas, some lentils and some dried garbanzos. NO black-eyed-peas. I was not pleased. I do NOT want to eat canned peas, even those ones that claim they are oh-so-traditionally done. They put stuff in them that may not be what I want to put in MY peas. I warily bought some dried baby lima beans. Not the same.

We came home (after stocking up on 50% off Christmas candy to stock my candy bowl at work for the next couple of months) and I cautiously approached the pantry, fingers crossed. Would there just possibly be a bag of dried black-eyed-peas there? It’s hard to find anything in there, with the interesting collection of things that now dwells on the floor, but, I stumbled to the bean section and, lo and behold, my heart filled with joy. A bag of fine looking black-eyed-peas greeted me. I’ll put them on to soak tonight!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

PS: One thing I am very grateful for is that all my family will eat black-eyed peas. I do make them a pork roast to go with it, since the men-folk seem to think that a ham hock in the peas does not constitute the “meat” portion of a “balanced meal.”