black eyed peas
Easy Black Eyed Peas with Mushrooms
02/12/10 Filed in: Beans
The following recipe is from Madhur Jaffrey and her book, Indian Cooking. This cookbook was a very thoughtful gift from my sister-in-law who paid attention to my musings about my interest in Indian food.
After I discovered a little Indian restaurant in my neighborhood, I really fell in love with the cuisine. The combinations of spices and foods, the curries, the sauces, all of it fills me with warmth. I love the smells, the textures, and the gentle heat from the peppers or ginger.
If you have the time, it is worth it to start this recipe from dried beans. I made it easy by using Eden canned black eyed peas. Using dried beans does not make a recipe more difficult, but is does lengthen the cooking time. You can use any brand of canned black eyed peas, but Eden is the only brand that does not line their cans of beans with BPA.
Black eyed peas are a great source of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. In addition, black eyed peas provide calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, as well as iron, zinc, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6, B12, folate, vitamin A, and pantothenic acid.
The tomatoes in the recipe add a good source of lycopene, the onions and garlic add a host of phytochemicals which eliminate free radicals, cinnamon helps the body regulate sugar, cumin seeds are a good source of iron, and I could go on and on.... The point is, that all the ingredients culminate in a dish full of useful and available nutrition.
Ingredients List:
3 cans of Eden black eyed peas, drained
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms
6 tablespoons of oilve oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons cilantro or parsley, chopped
Put the oil in a sauce pan. When hot, add the cinnamon and cumin, and sizzle for 5-6 seconds. Add the onions and garlic. Saute until the onion begins to brown.
Add the mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms wilt.
Add the tomatoes, cumin, coriander, and turmeric.
Stir together and reduce heat to low and cook for ten minutes.
Add the cans of black eyed peas, and simmer for 20-30 minutes on low. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.
Serve with rice as an entre or side. Enjoy over a baked potato. This recipe will keep in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for several months.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
0 Comments
Good Fortune Food
12/29/09
I do not normally follow a lot of ritualized traditions. However, I seem to make exceptions when it comes to food. Taste and smell are very closely connected with our memories. Having good food connected with good memories is a sentimentality that I enjoy.
A few years back, my mother started to cook corned beef and cabbage New Years Day. She claimed it was good luck. So I did some research and learned that there are many foods eaten around the globe that are suppose to bring good fortune over the new year. So why not layer our good luck with a multicultural feast between the last and the first day of each year. That way we cover all bases....just in case.
Greens are a popular good luck food in many cultures. The leaves represent paper money, in part due to their color but also due to their texture. Collards are probably the most popular but any greens will do. Cabbage falls into this same category with the representation being paper money. It is believed that the more greens one eats the greater their fortune that year. Sorry, honey, I know you're cringing right now, but maybe you can make it up in lentils......
Legumes of all varieties represent money in the form of coin. The most mentioned in New Year's lore are black eyed peas and lentils. I love both, how lucky for me!
Pigs or pork is popular around the globe. It represents progress because pigs always root forward. Avoid things that move backwards like lobster. Chickens scratch backwards and should be avoided as well.
Pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries and represent abundance and fertility. Hhmmmm....guess I'll be adding that to my plate.
In many asian countries, eating long noodles without breaking them represents having a long life so add some udon to your soup, or add it as a side this New Years.
Many places in North America, Asia and Europe eat fish for the New Year. Fish swim forward therefore represent progress as in the pigs. They also swim in schools representing abundance.
In Spain and other spanish speaking countries, 12 grapes are eaten at the stroke of midnight, one for each month of the year and for each stroke of the clock. In 1909, this practice was initiated to help alleviate a grape surplus in the Alicante region of Spain. They celebrate the coming of a sweet year.
So what will we eat in our house? We will start off with a lentil and black eyed pea dip. I will make salmon with greens for New Year's Eve and sprinkle them with pomegranate. We will have 12 grapes at midnight with our champaign. On New Years Day, lunch will consist of corned beef and cabbage with a salad made from black eyed peas. So what am I missing? Ah the noodles....maybe a simple miso soup with noodles to end our day with some quiet reflection of what to do with all our good fortune to come in 2010.
Cheers! Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous 2010.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A few years back, my mother started to cook corned beef and cabbage New Years Day. She claimed it was good luck. So I did some research and learned that there are many foods eaten around the globe that are suppose to bring good fortune over the new year. So why not layer our good luck with a multicultural feast between the last and the first day of each year. That way we cover all bases....just in case.
Greens are a popular good luck food in many cultures. The leaves represent paper money, in part due to their color but also due to their texture. Collards are probably the most popular but any greens will do. Cabbage falls into this same category with the representation being paper money. It is believed that the more greens one eats the greater their fortune that year. Sorry, honey, I know you're cringing right now, but maybe you can make it up in lentils......
Legumes of all varieties represent money in the form of coin. The most mentioned in New Year's lore are black eyed peas and lentils. I love both, how lucky for me!
Pigs or pork is popular around the globe. It represents progress because pigs always root forward. Avoid things that move backwards like lobster. Chickens scratch backwards and should be avoided as well.
Pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries and represent abundance and fertility. Hhmmmm....guess I'll be adding that to my plate.
In many asian countries, eating long noodles without breaking them represents having a long life so add some udon to your soup, or add it as a side this New Years.
Many places in North America, Asia and Europe eat fish for the New Year. Fish swim forward therefore represent progress as in the pigs. They also swim in schools representing abundance.
In Spain and other spanish speaking countries, 12 grapes are eaten at the stroke of midnight, one for each month of the year and for each stroke of the clock. In 1909, this practice was initiated to help alleviate a grape surplus in the Alicante region of Spain. They celebrate the coming of a sweet year.
So what will we eat in our house? We will start off with a lentil and black eyed pea dip. I will make salmon with greens for New Year's Eve and sprinkle them with pomegranate. We will have 12 grapes at midnight with our champaign. On New Years Day, lunch will consist of corned beef and cabbage with a salad made from black eyed peas. So what am I missing? Ah the noodles....maybe a simple miso soup with noodles to end our day with some quiet reflection of what to do with all our good fortune to come in 2010.
Cheers! Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous 2010.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.