Purple Hulled Peas

So last Saturday a farmer gave us (gave mind you) a grocery bag full of purple hulled peas.   I kind of sat there wondering... what in the world am I going to do with these?   Sadly,  Mr. Bishop had no recipes,  so I had to turn to the Internet.  Being a northern gal,  I was completely new to these legumes so this was a fun adventure.

The first step was to hull the beans.  Chef Turbo only helped with a few and then grew tired of the project.  That was alright with me.  I found it a bit relaxing to just stand there and hull peas.  Thankfully there were not too many.   I found this recipe,  I think a great starter recipe for someone like me.  I mostly followed it and the peas came out great.  I love the creamy texture they have.  They are also sweet!  I think I will invest in these beans/peas more often when they are in season.

So what things pair well with these beans (or peas, they look more like beans to me!)?  I tried looking online to find a resource to share with you all,  but alas,  you'll have to go look on Google.  It's kind of entertaining.  But one thing I see often,  bacon grease,  garlic, onion, and Tony's Seasoning.  These peas are a southern thing,  so think... southern cooking, a tough thing for a northern gal like me to do.  But I am getting there with my Cajun neighbors help.

Wilted Escarole with Anchovies and Garlic pp. 151

And Now a Word From Escarole...
     What's green, has not smooth leaves, and is related to chicory?  You've got it,  it's escarole.  I bought these heads at the farmers market from a very cheery elderly man.  He even talked me into buying some watercress, and I still have to figure out what to do with that.   According to fruitandveggieguru.com,

"Escarole contains only 20 calories and has 65% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A."

     That was all I was able to find out about the vegetable,  so far...

More Fish
     Again,  instead of using anchovies,  I used herring.  I really like the taste of herring and I thought it would not be a bad idea.  Anyways,  I have no idea where Wal-Mart carries anchovies.  And no,  please do not tell me.

Result
     The picture may have a heart,  but I did not love this dish.  Mr. Bishop said that it was not supposed to be bitter,  but it had a bitter taste to it.  I was too tired to really want to enjoy this meal too.  Oh well.  The kids?  Well,  they are not that into this kind of fish yet.  One day.





Other News
     I made some chicken stock using the chicken feet I purchased.  Looking forward to seeing if it really tastes that good or not.  This deserves it's own special post,  so be looking for a "Chicken Feet Special" sometime soon...

The Cook, The Chef, and The Sous Chef-- Beginning.

So, I watched the movie "Julie and Julia" and loved the idea of cooking through a cookbook. I somewhat liked the movie except for the swearing and the sex scenes. Yes, I am that sensitive and I like my movies to be clean of all that.

Anyways, I discovered that lots of people do "Cooking the Books" blogs. I thought, why not take such a challenge? I recently took up a challenge from Kid Appeal to eat a food I hate. I signed the petition. There are only less than 30 days left to sign and say "I will conquer a food I hate". Which one did I pick? Onions. Blech. I hate them with great hatred!

Anyways, back to my real challenge, to cook through this cookbook:

Here are my rules:
1) I will post recipe name, a picture, and what page number.

2) I will only cook out of this cookbook 5 days out of the week. Saturdays and Sundays are too crazy for me to keep up with this project.

3) I will do my best to write a review of each recipe and how the family reacted.

4) I WILL NOT OMIT THE ONIONS.

5) I will post a weekly post about the vegetable we will be eating for the week(s).

Now to introduce who will be making these creations!

I will be the cook. It's a fact, I am just a cook. I know that Chefs are people who are a professional, but I read somewhere that when involving boys in cooking, it's good and healthy to call them a chef while they are young.

So...
Cook: Me, Kris
Chef: Turbo, 4 years old.
Sous Chef: Squeaker, 2 years old, and will probably cause more chaos than help, but that is ok :D.
Reviewer #1: My Beloved (I figured he needed a job in all of this).

Starting tomorrow we will begin with the first chapter Artichokes.

Artichokes
Part of the thistle family. The part we eat is the flower bud. The smaller they are the more tender they will be. The larger the more woody. Baby Artichokes can be eaten without much preparation. I need to look for some that will snap when a leaf is pulled away from the bud. If it just bends back, it is not fresh enough. I can buy enough for the whole week. They last a week in the fridge. (1)



1) Field Guide to Produce pp.113-115