we were in recovery mode but knew we had to have some blackeyed peas on nyd
yes i know the correct spelling is black eyed pea or black-eyed pea but i think that spelling it like this blackeyed peas just well should be the way its done
so
i went down to the restaurant at the hotel where we were staying
i waited for this nice dressed up young waiter who came up to ask what i needed
i said
will you be having blackeyed peas today
thinking of all places in nola they would have them
he said as he looked down his nose at me
we dont serve those here
well
i cant say what i said under my breath
use your imagination
on to emerils nola restaurant thinking surely emeril would have some
nope
his was just those little green peas
im sure if you ate them they would cause bad luck for the year
so we didnt partake
why blackeyed peas for nyd
this is the lore as told on wikipedia
when sherman made his march to the sea during the civil war he plundered and burned everything so the south folks wouldnt have anything left
the peas in the field were recognized as food for the animals by the north troops and not for human consumption
thus the southern folks many survived eating the blackeyed peas that winter
thus
it became a tradition to eat the blackeyed peas on nyd in the south
thus becoming the symbol for good luck for the year
or
the blackeyed pea represented the emancipation of the slaves on nyd
thus being a symbol for good luck for the year
the blackeyed pea is a pea from africa brought here by the slaves
its growth spread over the south
it was used as food for farm animals
it was used as food for humans also
like corn is
if you have ever shelled them using your thumb you know that its purple
so back to my story
we my wife she and i decided
lets just wait till we get home the next day and use the purple hull peas i harvested from my garden this summer and froze just for this good luck meal which we did last night
i did a vegetarian version in our crock pot using my frozen shelled purple hull peas
i added 1 box of vegetable broth plus sauteed onions and garlic and bell pepper plus seasoning of sea salt ground black pepper pepper flakes my cooking spice mix plus liquid mesquite smoke plus 1 can of tomatoes and peppers some know as rotel plus olive oil and a pad or two of butter
then
i cooked it for several hours
we ie my wife she made some cornbread which represents gold
she also got some cans of peas as in the picture above in case i didnt cook the peas right
we had collards the day before at nola so that represents green which is money
the blackeyed via purple hull peas thats the good luck for the year
a prosperous year is in store for us if this story is true
maybe
we all here in the us need to be sure we all ate blackeyed peas this year
we may need it this year
the organicgreen doctor
Love this blog. I had forgotten the history behind the peas so thanks. It annoys me to put a hyphen in “black-eyed,” but I’m too anal to omit it. You would probably vomit if you ate mine. I cool a hen in a crockpot all night, take out the hen but leave in the grease, then add peas and three kinds of hog meat, and cook that in the crock pot all day. It’s so strong you have to fart while eating it. On New Years Day, we went to a party; and, in honor of the city slickers, I disguised the dish as a dip by sprinkling chopped onions and cheese on top. Since I was forgot my hearing aids and temporary teeth in front, I went with the whole redneck persona, gave the hostess my book, Last Trip Home, and pimped it as I have here.
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