Happy New Year!

Here we are well into the first day of 2008. I have my black-eyed peas cooking on the stove. Yup, I remembered this year. But as I looked back at the recipe I posted this time last year, I realized I have two different recipes for Hoppin’ John. The one I’m making as I type came from an old Southern Living cook book (1981). I’m going to post the recipe as it appears in the book. But I did not use the quick-soak method the recipe suggests. I soaked the black-eyed peas the NT way, 12-24 hours with 2 tbsp whey added to the water. Without further ado:

• 2 cups dried black-eyed peas
• 1/2 lb ham
• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup uncooked regular rice (I use brown rice)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I used 1/2 tsp basil and 1/2 tsp oregano)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Sort and wash peas; place in a heavy saucepan. Cover with water, and bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let soak 1 hour; drain.

Combine ham and 2 quarts water in a large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add peas; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer an additional 30 minutes or until black-eyed peas are done.

Remove ham; cut into small pieces. Stir ham into pea mixture. Yield: 10 to 12 servings.

One other thing I did differently than the recipe above: I sauteed the onion and celery in the 2 tsp. butter until just tender, then added that mixture to the peas after their 45 minute simmer. I used a couple of ham shank pieces for the ham, so will have to remove the bones when everything is done. And, the brown rice will likely require 10-15 minutes longer than the 30 minutes allotted in the recipe.

Whatever it is you may eat or do this New Year’s Day, I wish you a wonderful year. Happy New Year!

Busy in the Kitchen

I’ve had a lot going on in the kitchen, lately, along with the rest of life. I’ve got a stack of recipes I’ve been wanting to post. We’ve been eating pretty good. Since the almonds I mentioned in the last post, I’ve managed to prepare some whey and cream cheese. Once I had my whey I pickled some cucumbers and okra. I also made some mayonnaise. I’ve really been pushing myself the last couple of weeks to, at the minimum, plan out my dinners for the week before going grocery shopping. And, I’ve been utilizing more recipes from the Nourishing Traditions book, as well as the discussingNT Yahoo group.

Now there’s a worthwhile email group. They have been so helpful. When I have a question, I scan the files and search the messages. If I don’t find the answer, then I post my question. It is so helpful to have all those more experienced folks to query. I would strongly encourage anyone interested in healthy food to check out that group. If you haven’t yet read Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Traditions, get that first. Then go to the group. You’ll learn tons from both.

Anyway, I seem to be doing much better with dinner. Now to tackle breakfast and lunch. We just used up the last boxed cereal I plan to ever buy. I found a couple of recipes to make my own cereal on the discussingNT group. I made one yesterday and it turned out pretty good. Now I’m set to try the other. I’ve also reintroduced oatmeal. We went a long while without having that tasty breakfast. What I need are some things I can have ready, with little preparation in the morning for G, as he’s leaving around 6:15.

Lunch can be taken care of many days with leftovers from dinner. I’m working on having good choices around for when that does not apply. Weekends are actually more of a challenge with B’s soccer games on Saturday and worship activities on Sunday. G suggested having a brunch ready for when we get home on Saturday (games in the morning). Things like egg casseroles, fruit salads, etc. I’ll have to work on that. For Sunday, I’m planning things that I can prepare the night before or that morning for the crock-pot or oven, or leftovers form the week. We’ll have our big meal mid-day (afternoon), then a snack later in the evening after returning from evening activities.

It’s so great to have all this coming together. I’m loving the farmers market. We don’t lack for fresh vegetables right now. It runs May through November. I’m also amazed at the products available in our local grocery stores – even Walmart. But our HEB is the best. I haven’t had to drive the nearly 10 miles to Whole Foods for a couple of months now.

That’s my update for September. Now, back to the kitchen.

Maria’s Chicken Salad

I had a friend over for lunch today and she brought over some chicken salad. It was rather unique, so I got her permission to post it here. It’s really good. As a matter of fact, I was eating some this afternoon with some crackers for a snack when my husband came in. He tried it and nearly took it away from me to eat it himself. I don’t have any measurements, but I’ll throw out what Maria told me. Perhaps someone out there might like to experiment with these flavors yourself.

2 cans of chicken, some mayonnaise, and some raspberry walnut vinaigrette. Determine amounts by desired consistency.

There ya go. This is just something my friend made up one day when she didn’t have much in the kitchen. Not bad. I might try it with leftover roast chicken instead of canned. At first glance, pink chicken salad is a little weird. But, when you try it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.