The trials and tribulations of 2020 and lucky black-eyed peas

So, I haven’t updated this blog much lately.  Guess I’ve just been super busy being depressed and quarantined. It's not all been lounging in pajamas and sleeping late, however. I have been working with Bowdabra blog as well as Make it easy crafts blog and there just isn’t enough time in the day.  I really do not understand it, but even though I have nowhere to go and the days seem endless, I never seem to get anything done! Perhaps it is the time change where it’s dark at 5:00 P.M. Or more than likely, the real reason is that when the days all seem to blend together and I feel like it's a scene from "Groundhog Day", it is hard to rev up my ambition. I've never before asked my husband so many times, "Is today Wednesday or Thursday?" 

 

Now that Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is on the horizon how are those decorations going?  If you are like me, it is a little bit here and even less there.  In the past I was like Clark Griswald from "Christmas vacation", going overboard with three trees and a multitude of decorations. Now, I’m more like the Grinch, just hoping the holiday would pass quickly and quietly.  Why the big change?

 

Well, the world has changed.  So many restrictions and so many fears.  Solitude while once sought after for a moment or two has become the norm.  Ok, so I’m not totally alone.  I do have my husband and even though he is the easiest man to get along with, spending this much time together is a bit challenging.  I get cranky.  He gets cranky. It can only go downhill from there.

 

And then, there is streaming.  We’ve streamed everything that is worth watching and now all that remains are some dubbed in B movies and dopey Christmas romances. I'm just not into the bad acting and hokey stories. I've suffered through the Christmas prince meets the Christmas pauper one too many times. Even the holiday music is annoying. Not in the mood for a holiday tale? Ask yourself, how many times can they make a movie out of a giant, people eating sandworm?

 

I've never been one to binge-watch, but this year I’ve binged entire seasons of old TV shows in one day. 

 

I have a new studio and I cannot get the inspiration to paint. It used to be I would relish an extra hour or so to paint and now I have endless hours and yet I can’t manage that first brush stroke.

 

And while we are talking, what’s up with the mail. I went to order a Christmas present for my husband in November and even though they charged quite a bit for shipping, it wouldn’t get there before Christmas.  Nope, no gift arriving before January, that is, unless one will fork over another $15, $20, $30 extra fees depending upon when you want it to arrive.  So Cyber-Monday is deceptive unless you want to spend $50 for that personalized “totally free and only pay shipping” coffee mug.

 

Shop local…love to, if I only didn’t have to wear a mask.  I am unlucky enough to have suffered my entire life with asthma.  Covering my mouth and nose causes an anxiety-induced asthma attack and I must leave the store within five minutes.  Ever try to leisurely shop while you are suffocating?

 

When the clock struck 12 a.m. on Jan 1, 2020, I was in bed with the flu or something similar that took me 3 weeks to get over.  So, I didn’t cook my usual lucky black-eyed peas and rice like I have done every year in the past.  I think that was the reason the year 2020 was so difficult. I jinxed it.   This January 1, 2021, come hell or high water I am getting out the black-eyed peas and cooking up a double batch.  

 

 

Black eyed peas recipe

Every New Year's Day we eat black eye peas for luck in the upcoming Year.  I know this post is a tad late for New Year's Day but better late than never right?  

In the south black eyed peas are considered to be very lucky indeed.  During Sherman's march in December of 1864 the union army destroyed just about everything on the way leaving only the lowly black eye or field peas that they considered inedible. The southerners were lucky to survive and not starve to death with the help of this simple legume.  

The black eyed pea is full of protein, and does not contain fat or cholesterol.  They are also a good source of fiber.  These delicious peas fit the bill for any day even after New Years Day!

Black eyed peas, rice and tomatoes

Ingredients

Tablespoon dried onion

1 lb. bag of dried black eyed peas

2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 cups cooked white rice

One clove garlic diced well

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Soak the peas overnight or use the quick method of putting the peas in large pot, filling with water two inches over the peas and boil for two minutes.  Let the peas sit for an hour.

Meanwhile cook 2 cups of white rice as per package directions. Drain any excess water from the peas and add the two cans of diced tomatoes, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. 

Simmer on low heat till the peas are done and the flavors have all blended.  Eat with freshly made cornbread.

Black-eyed peas, rice and tomatoes

Superstitions abound on New Year’s Day.  In my family I always make a big pot of Black-eyed peas with tomatoes and rice for luck, but why are they lucky? 

Well, in the south the story goes that when Sherman’s troops raided the south they took everything but the black-eyed peas, which they considered animal food.  So the southerners made it through the winter on black-eyed peas.  They were lucky and they credited the black-eyed peas.

Since I grew up in the south, that theory works for me, but my parents from whom I got this superstition were northerners and their parents came from Greece so none of my ancestors were around when the Southerners were eating those peas. 

While we are talking about my Greek ancestors I’ve always been told that a man has to be the first visitor on New Year’s Day.  My grandmother would not open the door unless it was a man.  My mother always a rule breaker, made my brothers go outside and come back in just to be safe.  They weren’t men but hey they had that Y Chromosome so it worked for her. 

So just to be safe I guess I will go soak those dried black-eyed peas now. I mean why push my luck right?

What about you, what do you do for New Year’s Day?

Black-eyed peas with tomatoes and rice recipe

Bag of dried black eyed peas, soaked overnight as per the package instructions

I cup of white rice

Two cans of diced tomatoes

Clove of garlic finely chopped

¼ cup of finely chopped onions

Soak the peas overnight. Add water to cover peas and bring to a boil.  Simmer till the peas are tender.  Meanwhile cook rice as package directs.  In a small saucepan add a bit of oil and cook onions and garlic till just tender.  Do not brown.  Add the rice, garlic, onion and two cans of diced tomatoes to the peas.  Add salt and pepper to taste, simmer till hot throughout.  The black-eyed peas get better with each heating as the flavors meld.