On Thu, 31 Dec 2015 21:50:12 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 31 Dec 2015 17:16:52 -0800 (PST), Tim wrote:

On Thu, 31 Dec 2015 16:24:06 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 31 Dec 2015 15:03:23 -0500, wrote:

Looking at things, we are going to need all the luck we can get next
year. ;-)

I think it's going to be split pea for us. The black-eyed peas haven't been doing so
well.

Has to be blackeyed peas on new years day if you want good luck next
year.
--------

So that's why Walmart had loads of packaged bh peas? I was going to pick up a couple trays but then I saw how much sodium they were loaded with...

Are you talking about 'dried' ones or canned? There is very little sodium in the
dried beans, and if they're fixed without a lot of salt, they can be a low-sodium
dish. You'd probably want to add some seasonings to make up for the missed salt
though.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/much...ant-11446.html

This guy says it all

"If you make black-eyed peas at home instead of getting them from a
restaurant, you’ll cut out nearly all the excess sodium. One cup of
plain black-eyed peas prepared in plain boiling water has less than 10
milligrams of sodium. You’ll certainly need some flavoring, so add on
chili powder, garlic powder or freshly chopped herbs. These seasonings
add sodium in just minuscule amounts, if at all."

I start with onions, garlic and some aromatics like fresh thyme and
rosemary along with the lean parts of a hog jawl (You throw a lot of
fat away, get over it)
The interior parts like this still carry the smoke but not much of the
salt. Cube it up and cook on fairly high heat that up until everything
is good and brown. Keep it moving.
In the mean time boil the peas and change the water 2 or 3 times to
get rid of the "dirt taste".
Deglaze your pan (the one with the onions and pork you cooked) with
cheap bourbon. You can flambe' it if you want to put on a show. Be
sure you get all the bits off the bottom of the pan. pour in some beef
stock and continue deglazing the pan until it is clean on the bottom
then add the peas and stock to cover along with a big shot of
worchestershire sauce and maybe some Kansas city style BBQ sauce. (not
the southern sweet unless you want the sugar). Add whatever other
spices you like to make it your own
Cook that down for several hours on low heat and you got you
something.
I put it in the fridge over night to stabilize all of the flavors and
crank it up on low heat on the morning so the people coming by for a
bit of good luck can just dip up a bowl.
It is an old southern/western tradition. My Oklahoma people did it as
well as the real old time southern Md folks. The main difference is
their peas tasted like dirt with a lot of salt in it ;-)

In the morning I am making my New Years chili with all of the
leftover turkey, roast beef and other stuff I accumulated this week.