Legumes – Rosemary and the Goat

Hoppin’ John

This could be your New Year’s Eve good luck meal!

Hoppin’ John is a Carolina rice and pea dish made with either red peas or cowpeas. The recipe can be traced back to roots in West Africa. There are a lot of variations but basically peas and rice are the main ingredients. I’ve add some bell pepper, onion and garlic; a little ham hock and fried/crispy pork belly never hurt a recipe.

Most recipes call for Carolina gold rice but I could not find that; maybe I’ll have to check out Amazon or put it on my list of things to look for when we go to “the city”.

Awhile back I used these red peas to do a pea and grits recipe which was quite good also. I think the next time I make Hoppin’ John I will saute’ some fresh jalapeno in with the onions and bell peppers for a little added heat. I think the recipe can also benefit from some sliced celery. Really, you can add just about anything. Maybe a sliced smoked sausage in place of the pork belly would add more spice.

December 28, 2022 By Sherry

Entree/ Legumes/ Pork

Red Peas with Pork Belly and Cheesy Grits

P-P-P-P’s – Peas Please!

I’ve always loved peas (maybe not English peas when I was a kid); black eyed, purple hull, field, lady, cream, and of course snow and sugar snap. The first peas are legumes but still a pea in my book My dad use to grown black eyed, purple hull and field pieces and my mother would mix them all together when she cooked them. I don’t grow my own peas but sometimes I will buy a can of each, drain and rinse and mix them together; I love the different shapes and colors together

The red pea is a variety I’ve never tried and recently ordered a package of Sea Island Red Peas from Amazon and after looking at several recipes, I knew what I was going to serve with them. Some good barely cheesy grits, topped with the red peas/gravy and topped with some crispy pork belly chunks. I’m making Hoppin’ John this week using the remainder of my bag of peas. Hoppin’ John is a dish I’ve never made before so I’m anxious to make it and maybe have a good crusty bread instead of cornbread.

November 14, 2022 By Sherry

Entree/ Legumes

Creamy White Beans with Herb Oil

Do I like beans or what? Another bean recipe.

There is nothing my comforting than a bowl of beans no matter how they are prepared. Some cold winter night or even a rainy day this would be a super easy recipe to prepare for your family.

I happened upon this recipe on my New York Times Cooking app or New York Times cooking section; I don’t really remember other than it came from NYT — thanks anyway for the recipe.

This recipe could probably be made for less than $10 even if you had to buy the herbs to make the herb oil. Beans when combined with grains form a complete protein; see my White Beans and Sausage recipe – that dish would be a complete protein meal. Beans have no cholesterol, no saturated fat and lower in calories than most animal proteins.

February 27, 2022 By Sherry