better than doing resolutions

BETTER THAN DOING RESOLUTIONS
this year i was determined
that i would cook black eyed peas for new years eve
they would taste good
we would have a good year after that

now black eyed peas was brought over from west africa
gradually got domesticated in the us
many times black eyed peas were what stood between
survival and starvation in the south

it eventually became a tradition in the south
to have black eyed peas for new years
which supposedly would lead
to a prosperous and healthy year

now the last several years i have struggled
with getting mine cooked correctly
ok so they were bad last year
i just couldnt seem to get them cooked right

so for christmas i went to my rainwater brothers house
his wife had cooked a pot of black eyed peas
man they were cooked
just right
so
i quizzed her at great length
even called her a few days later
to make sure i got it all correct

but
the story starts months and months before this
it seems that most black eyed peas are raised
in california
for me
now dont get me wrong now
i like california
ms b and her parents and my other son and my inlaws
all live there
my wife she and i graduated from a university there
so we have roots
but
not blackeyed pea roots
eating ones from california just didnt seem right

no
i wanted peas grown in the south
so
last spring and summer
after i picked my onions my potatoes my tomatoes
i sowed black eyed peas onto the beds
they fix nitrogen in the soil
after they have done their duty growing their pods
of peas
they are covered up in the soil
compost and fertilizer is added
then
the bed is ready for the next crops
in this case
it was tomatoes the fall garden this springs onions
this springs pepper egg plant basil bed
so
are you getting an idea of the importance
of the black eyed pea
in our life here at the country n

yes
its important
so we harvested all the peas
my wife she and my motherinlaw the namesake of
billies beans
all shelled the black eyed peas last july
now i watched them do it
no they dont do it like we were taught as a kids
i knew better than to say anything
right

all i know
if you do it right
you end up with a black thumbnail
the measure of accurate pea shelling

anyway
they did up a mess of these peas
thats what its called in the south
they were frozen in a ziplock bag
labeled
dont open until january 1 2016

so thats the story of how i got my black eyed peas
from the south

so on december 31st
out from the freezer came this package of
organic country n black eyed peas
they were thawed
put in a crock pot with a box of veggie broth
with crushed garlic added-an organic country n garlic
cooked for 3 hours
then
one onion and one poblano pepper was added
yes of course an organic country n pepper and onion
then
seasoning with salt crushed pepper and italian seasonings
were added

they were cooked until they were soft
then
a can of diced tomatoes were added
no we had used up all our country n canned tomatoes

then
after they were cooked for awhile longer
they were ready to eat

now my wife she made
a skillet an iron one full of good ole fashioned
cornbread like my mother use to make

now i put mine over the cornbread
letting some juice soak into the cornbread
also eating the peas with cornbread on the side

now my wife she eats hers differently
she put hers in a bowl and eats them
you can tell where she was raised
right

so we had a satisfying meal that day
i felt as full as a tick on a hound dog

yes my southernness is coming through

so
now i know that i have done as much as i can to
guarantee
a prosperous and healthy new year

ok just one resolution
exercise more

the organicgreen doctor