Black-Eyed Peas And More

I'm not sure why but we're still in a Southern state of mind, at least at dinnertime.

While pressing on with my never ending mission to keep clearing out the freezer I spied a well wrapped chunk of Easter baked ham. I love to re-work leftovers and it's just a short leap from ham to soup from soup to greens from greens to black-eyed peas. We had kale and I found fresh peas at the market so I was off and running. First I sauteed some onion, the whites of scallions and chopped garlic in vegetable oil. Then I added in the black -eyed peas, the chopped kale, a shot of tabasco, chicken broth, salt and water and brought the liquid up to a boil. I lowered the flame and let the pot simmer (along with some chunks of ham I added in) until the beans were tender. I fished out the ham, cut it into bite sized chunks and added it back to the stew with the greens of the scallions and a good shot of red wine vinegar.

I served James' Southern stew with biscuits I was storing in the freezer waiting to bake. Another good dinner, another shelf cleared.