Welcome to Wonderful
 |
| Southern Summer Homecooking |
In our home, this scrumptious looking plate of goodness is referred to as a veggie dinner. We come from a long line of summer vegetarians. When the fresh summer vegetables are so plentiful and delectable why bother with meat? Obviously, not totally meatless with the addition of a little piece or two of leftover ham in the green beans. Both of my grandfathers had successful vegetable patches. What I wouldn't give right now for one of their good tomatoes.
In the summertime, I can hardly remember my mother cooking
anything besides vegetables. I remember going to the Farmer's Market
sheds downtown and coming home toting bags of goodies. Summer wasn't
summer without purple thumbs. Or the pop of snapped green beans falling
softly into the pot. Or the pfft of corn juice bursting from the cob and
across your face. Sadly, I was practically an adult before I fell
in love with tomatoes. I remember the plates of tomatoes I
passed around the dinner table without having the good sense to fork a couple
onto my plate. My aunt would eat a tomato like an apple!
This is not the column about my cornbread (which is
perfect). (Perfect Cornbread Post 11-23-13) That will come later when we delve into the proper method of
making Cornbread dressing, close to Thanksgiving. But you will
need a mighty fine cornbread to go with this recipe. For a
little history, I will tell you that I made my first batch of cornbread one
summer day when my mother had taken to her sick bed. (This is a
rarity for my mother who is the original inspiration for the Energizer
Bunny.) She had veggies cooked for lunch. In his new job, my
father was able to come home for lunch, rain or shine, which was a nice break
from the stress of retail management.
She told me to go make the cornbread for his lunch. At
this point in my shaky culinary career, I don't know if I had even baked a
cake mix. She told me the "Red and White Checkered Book" and
the title. Those were my instructions. I know you are thinking this
is a lot of info on cornbread, how could there be more if this isn't
THE column, but I am the Cornbread Diva and my vast knowledge
can't be contained here. This is supposed to be about Pea Salad.
I don't know if Pea Salad is a family invention but I do
know I have yet to sit down at another table serving purple hull peas and
see this accoutrement. But I forgot about the purple hull peas!
I know I have eaten Black-eyed Peas but not by
choice. Purple hull peas are the purest choice for those of us down
south just like we know the right way to pronounce pecans
(pu =
pu(ff) + cons ). Pettest peeve - not PEECANS. That is
just rude. Not PEECONS. Senseless. Enough.
Fresh Purple hull peas (which will turn your fingers purple
if you shell them but that is what shelling machines were invented for so spend
the extra unless you want sore purple fingers or you wish
to inflict a character lesson upon a child) after shelling, must be washed
in a colander to pick out any bad peas (very, very
few). Place them in a big enough pot to cover well with water
and leave room for a small simmer. It is tempting to boil but it will
make them tough. Cook them on low, very slowly. They have
a little scummy foam (nothing bad) you will need to slough off with a
spoon during the first part of cooking. They are best cooked
for about an hour and a half or longer. But not to the point of being
mushy. You may need to add a little water as the juice boils
off. You want more juice than peas. Add salt and pepper to
taste. And also add, the butter of the south, a good tablespoon of
bacon grease. It doesn't take much but flavors
perfectly. They are not to be swimming in bacon grease, just
gently flavored. This is the secret to using bacon grease, less is really
more. Once they are seasoned, you can keep them on the
stove until the rest of the meal is ready.
My great-grandparents had several hotels in
different little towns throughout their career and sons who would
follow in their footsteps. Some of these hotels also had dining
rooms and hotel kitchens. Knowing my love of cooking and
family, my uncle has been so good to share with me some of my
great-grandfather's cooking leaflets and recipes. Unfortunately, I think
most of the recipes were those he knew by heart and never wrote down. But
now that I'm writing about Pea Salad, I think maybe this is where it
originated, for our family. My dear sweet Burt, who was born in a border
state with the Mason-Dixon running through it, loves Pea Salad on his purple
hull peas and cornbread.
Measurements are
approximate. You need:
1 good size green
bell pepper/ 1 small onion/ 1 medium tomato
1 tsp. sugar/ 1 tsp. salt/ 1/2 tsp.
pepper/
1/2
tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar/ Equal parts water and white vinegar
Clean and seed bell pepper.
I used three rings of pepper, dicing the rings into small pieces, as
pictured. / I peeled and sliced and diced most of the onion, small
pieces. / I peeled the tomato and sliced and diced it into small
pieces./ Add water and white vinegar in equal parts, more on the
vinegar side. Add salt, pepper and sugar. For something different,
I added the Balsamic vinegar and it works great. Chill before
serving. The longer this sets, the tastier it gets. To serve:
Slice and butter a piece of hot, out-of-the-oven cornbread.
Open cornbread up and add hot, cooked purple hull peas on top of
the cornbread, with a little bit of the pot juice also. Top this with
cold Pea Salad but don't use a slotted spoon. You will want the tangy
vinegar dressing. Add a little or a lot, depends on
you. There will be several layers of taste
sensations. You may consume another serving. It is also
permissible to make your entire meal of just cornbread, peas, and salad.
As my Pa would say, "Mighty fine, best I ever had." You have
arrived.
(Like the country.)
signed,
a woman with butter dripping down her hand as it melts
on hot cornbread (the dessert
slice)
**I wonder if anyone else has a similar salad for peas?
**This is also a necessity on New Year's Day and is
delicious with Prime Rib, Ham, or Fried Chicken.
Originally published 9-13-13
No comments:
Post a Comment