Food: Black-eyed Peas and Greens

Today is our food post day...we'll either share a recipe or some thoughts about a dish we like or what's known these days as food porn. Well today I'd like to share a dish that I like. Actually it's two things that I have together at least once a year.

I'm originally from Georgia, in the southeastern United States, and I come from a tradition where people have black-eyed peas and collard greens to eat on New Year's Day. The tradition is that eating the peas brings luck and the greens bring money in the fresh new year. It's just a tradition and I don't think that anyone thinks that these foods hold magic, but it's kind of one of those things where you say...it couldn't hurt to give it a go. And it's a nice tradition.

I was able to find black-eyed peas but I'm not able to find collard greens where I live here, so I usually get kale or spring greens which are cousins to collard greens anyway so it all works fine.

Here is a picture of the spring greens before I cooked them. It's a good idea to give a them a good rinse before you cook them.

And here's a picture of them after they're cooked. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and a splash each of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Then I just let them cook down.

The black-eyed peas were very quick. I took the quick route and just microwaved them and added salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and onions. Usually I would cook them up on the stove top, but I was short on time, so I took the microwave short cut. Here's a picture of the finished dish.

I served these with a medallion steak and it was delicious. It was a delicious way to start off the brand new year!

I wish everyone lots of good fortune in 2014!