blackeyed peas

BLACKEYED PEAS

look at the package of those peas 
it says blackeye peas
well
they are really beans not peas but dont tell that to a southerner
they are peas

also
i grew up calling them blackeyed peas
so thats how i will spell them 
since i am deep down a southerner

i looked on the cans of the blackeyed peas and it says they are from south carolina
they should know better

i looked at the package of dry blackeyed peas and it says they are from minnesota
well they dont know better

i go with blackeyed peas

folks around here say when they hear me talk
where you from they ask
i say 
im from the south 
oh they say i can tell

now when i go back to the arkansas and texas they say you have an accent 
they mean a california one

i guess im caught in limbo a no win situation

im a southerner 
its in my blood
i cant make it go away
some of being a southerner im not proud of

as my historian brother has done our family dna he has found out the truth about folks in our family tree
my ancestors fought in the civil war
most were confederates
some were on the union side
some were what were called galvanized
they were confederates who when captured chose going out west to fight the indian wars instead of going to the union prisons
that would make those confederate ancestors do two wrong things

what i decided to do was draw a line on the calendar when the civil war ended
i forgave all the bad things my ancestors did before then
many were slave owners
i cant undo this

ive thought about it a lot
im not sure what i would have done had i lived back then

so after the mid 1860s my ancestors are not forgiven for any bad things done
i have decided to move forward and do whats right now for others in our country

so why are blackeyed peas cooked for new years day for good luck in the south

there are 3 theories

the union soldiers came through and wiped out food sources for the confederates to access
they didnt realize the blackeyed peas were eaten by the confederates
they thought the peas were food for the animals
so 
they left all the blackeyed peas
which allowed the southerners to survive the winter
thus
blackeyed peas for new years became a tradition

blackeyed peas was a soul food even before the civil war happened
in 1863 the blackeyed pea was all that was left to celebrate after the emancipation proclamation so the peas have been eaten for good luck since
a true soul food

blackeyed peas are easily grown in the south
it can be grown and stored as dry peas
then easily eaten as a winter food
its celebrated because of this 

my guess why us southerners eat them on new years eve are all the above

here is a good review article on the blackeyed pea new years day thing
notice they spell it like i spell it blackeyed peas

some say you have to eat collards and hog jowls also to get the good luck

we over the years have chosen just the blackeyed peas
so far except for this last year it has worked
except of course last year
we did get grandson number two mr n to go with grandson number one mr h
also mr h got his new kidney from a donor who after doing ancestory dna showed her to be kin to mr h from our ancestors in the mid to early 1800s
so some good came out of last year
but
mostly it was bad

the covid 19 pandemic
the whatever illness i had that tried to kill me
the loss of my rainwater brother 

so 
tomorrow i will cook a large pot of blackeyed peas 
i will eat them with a big pan of cornbread my moms recipe cooked in a cast iron skillet

so 
heres hoping for a better 2021

my new years resolution
stay alive
get my covid 19 vaccine
return to a normal fun life

here is my recipe
i soak the dry peas overnight
i put them in a crockpot on high in just enough water to cover them
warning these are mostly vegetarian blackeyed peas

when they soften
i add
chopped onions 
chopped or diced tomatoes saved from my garden
diced texas am mild jalapenos saved from my garden
minced garlic saved from last years garden
seasoned with black pepper and salt and herbs and hickory flavored liquid smoke and smoked paprika and cumin
olive oil and butter instead of howl jowls
i add chicken bone broth if i need more liquid in the pot
some of this recipe is from the organic soup kitchen bean recipes

when done i enjoy with my wife shes cornbread

as a back up if this falls
i 
simply
open up those cans of blackeyed peas 
dump them in a pot
and
heat them up
and
enjoy them with my wife shes cornbread

have a safe new years
eat your blackeyed peas so you can have a better 2021

be safe

remember
50% of folks who get a covid 19 infection get it from friends and from family gatherings
the other 50% get it from travel work casinos and sports bars restaurants etc

be careful
wear a mask
wash your hands
keep a safe distance from others
avoid gatherings
dont travel
get your vaccine when its your time to get it
eat your blackeyed peas

we all want to have a good 2021

the organicgreen doctor