My family, like so many others in the South, has a tradition of eating black-eyed peas--in actuality a type of bean--on New Year's Day. We didn't eat them the rest of the year because, well, if truth be told, none of us liked them.

Years later I found one method of cooking the dried beans that involved removing the strongly flavored skins, but while delicious it was far too labor-intensive for frequent use.

Finally today I discovered an easier, delicious way of eating them without the strong flavor. They still have that characteristic strong smell while cooking, but none of that strong taste.

The recipe is easy: rinse very fresh black-eyed peas, then put in plain unsalted water, bring to a boil, then simmer in a covered pan until soft (15 to 20 minutes). Drain and roughly mash with a fork if desired. At this point you can add flavorings--I added a bit of reduced chicken broth and some Tabasco sauce.

The result: surprisingly wonderful! The cooked peas tasted nothing like the cooking smell but were instead savory and mild.

From now on, I'm always using local, fresh black-eyed peas. These were purchased just down the road at Broadened Horizons Organic Farm [1]. Thank you, Farmer Leaf! :)

-- OneTahiti, finally a fan of black-eyed peas

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