New Year's Day-Black-Eyed Peas and Gluten Free Jalapeno Corn Bread

Simply Delicious!

RINGING IN 2012 with Black-Eyed Peas is known to bring you an abundance of Good Luck for the new year.  Whether you believe this or not, it is definitely a great meal on a cold winter's evening. An article I read a few years ago from the Boston University paper from the school of Theology stated; "Eat poor on New Year's and eat fat the rest of the year."  From good luck to prosperity! Hmm?  It sounds promising.

Tapping into some Southern roots with this dish is a sure way to satisfy all your taste buds.  I have no Southern roots myself, but I suppose, if you're born anywhere near the South, you may just have some memories of a delicious dish with Black-Eye Peas.  I do remember my Nana (surrogate mother, Mima), who had African/Cuban roots herself, and she made a delicious pot of black-eyed peas during the holidays with a Caribbean flair.  I wish I would have taken the time to write down her recipe, but the memories of her delicious dish, are fond memories and my taste buds still remember the delicious flavors from her black-eyed peas dish. 

I looked up several recipes for Black-Eyed Peas, and the most popular one that I found is named "Hoppin' John.  I'm not sure of the history behind this name, but I'm sure you can find something on the Internet that may describe the origins behind it.  I found this link to be interesting and glad to read that it was originated in West Africa where my Nana's ancestors were from. It makes me feel connected to her, and all the good times we had together when she was alive.  Life is Good with such great memories!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoppin'_John

This is not an authentic recipe as I adapted several variations to suit my style of cooking.  Enjoy!

Five ingredients and 5 simple steps

A pot of Black-Eyed Peas; Delicious!

Hoppin' John and Sadie -Black-Eyed Peas with Rice and Corn Bread Recipes

Note: all ingredients are best when organic

Bean Recipe

1 pound black-eyed peas (dry)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, whole with paper removed
2 bay leaves
2 ham hocks with meat (ask your butcher for smoked ham hock)
8 cups of water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350*F

1. Rinse beans several times and discard water (about 4-5 times).  No need to soak beans overnight.
2. In a Ceramic Bean Pot or a Dutch oven; heat olive oil and saute onions until translucent; add garlic, bay leaves, ham hocks, beans and water.  Bring to a boil.
3. Cover pot with a lid or foil, and place in oven for 3 hours. Remove from oven and set aside to slightly cool.
4. When beans are slightly cooled; in a colander, drain beans.  Reserve bean/ham stock.
5. Remove the ham hock and shred the meat.  Add meat to drained beans; keep warm and set aside.

While beans are in the oven: you can prepare the rice and corn bread



Brown Rice Recipe

1 1/2 cups of organic brown rice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5 vine riped tomatoes (organic), chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt (add more to taste; I cook with low salt)
1 tablespoon Cajun Creole Seasoning (if you prefer less spicy, add 1 teaspoon, and be sure you buy salt free, organic spices)
1 teaspoon Hungarian Paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

1. Wash rice thoroughly, until water is clear.  Cook rice in rice-cooker, if you own one.  *Cooking rice on stove top: Add 3 cups of water in a pot; add rice, and bring to a boil.  Cover pot, and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook about 10 -15 minutes, until rice is tender. 
2. In skillet, on medium heat; add olive oil, red bell pepper and saute until onion and bell pepper are tender.  Add chopped tomatoes and remaining spice ingredients.  Cook on low heat until tomatoes are tender. Do not overcook as you want to keep some of the tomato juices for the rice and beans. 
3. Taste for seasoning; at this point, you can add more spices or salt to satisfy your taste buds.
4. Carefully add cooked rice to tomato sauce; spoon in 1/2 cup of the reserved bean/ham stock, and carefully stir rice into tomato sauce.  Gently add the beans and toss until rice and beans are completely married.

Serve with Jalapeno Corn Bread

Jalapeno Corn Bread
Gluten-Free

Sadie's Gluten Free-Corn Bread Recipe

1 cup organic corn meal (Bob's Red Mill is my preference)
1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (Thomas Keller's "Cup4Cup" brand is my preference)
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder (be sure to buy sodium free, gluten free and aluminum free baking powder for all your baking needs)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
1/4 cup jalapenos, chopped

Preheat oven to 400*F

1. Combine all dry ingredients, and sift (you can sift ingredients with a wire whisk).
2. Whisk milk, olive oil and egg.  Add chopped jalapenos and stir.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until blended (do not over stir).
4. Spray medium size Cast Iron pan with oil or a Pyrex pie pan; add corn bread mixture and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown

Happy New Year's and all the Best to Everyone in 2012! 

Eat organic, eat local sustainable foods; support your community!

Buon Appetito!

Tilapia with a Sweet Onion, Tomatoes and Tarragon Salsa

Tilapia is not a common fish that I would go out and buy to cook; as it is mostly farm raised and I prefer wild fish.  However, one of the chefs I was speaking to earlier this morning, was talking about the Tilapia Fish Tacos he had made last week and it was absolutely delicious, low in fat and very tasty.  So, I did a bit of research on Tilapia and this is one of the facts I found out about Tilapia that got me to the Market today, to buy some for dinner tonight: 

"Tilapia have very low levels of mercury, as they are fast-growing and short-lived, with a primarily herbivorous diet, so do not accumulate mercury found in prey. Tilapia is a low saturated fat, low calorie, low carbohydrate and low sodium protein source. It is a source of phosphorus, niacin, selenium, vitamin B₁₂ and potassium."

Perfect.  Low in saturated fat, low carbohydrate and vitamin B12, just what I was looking for in a meal.  Now, let me just start adding ingredients to it to make it tasty and still keep it low in saturated fat.

Let the chef in the kitchen, apron on, hair in ponytail, heels on and ready to cook:

Baked Tilapia ready to serve!

Recipe

1 pound Tilapia
3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1 medium sized organic sweet onion, chopped
1 medium sized organic tomato, seeded and chopped
1 Bay leaf
2-3 tablespoons fresh Tarragon, chopped (I add 3 tbsp, as I love the flavor of tarragon)
2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dry basil
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 lemon
3 tablespoons of capers
Salt and pepper (white pepper) to taste

Fish should be refrigerated until ready to cook.

1. In medium skillet pan, heat oil on medium low heat; add onions and cook until onions are translucent. 
2. Add chopped tomatoes to cooked onions with bay leaf, tarragon, basil, minced garlic clove and red chili flakes; cook for about 5 minutes while stirring. Add a little bit of salt and white pepper to taste.
3. Let the mixture of onions, tomatoes and herbs cool completely (this can be made ahead and refrigerated; until ready to use). Squeeze 1/2 lemon juice and stir well.
4. Preheat oven to 375*F
5. Rinse Tilapia in cold water and pat dry with paper towel.
6. Add some EVOO (1 tablespoon, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan) to a baking pan and place Tilapia on baking pan.
7. Spoon cooled onion and tomato mixture on top of Tilapia and add capers on top of each fillet. Be sure you remove bay leaf and discard.
8. Place in the center of the oven and Bake for 30-35 minutes

Serve this recipe with  1/2 cup of rice medley (brown rice, wild rice and heirloom red rice) and some sliced lemon!

Buon Appetito