Don't Forget the Chow Chow

Happy New Year, y'all! Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is a fine southern tradition.  The origin story I was told as a child was that when Sherman marched through the South, the only crop he did not burn was the black-eyed pea, which he thought was used to feed hogs, so he let it be. Southerners then were thankful that they had something to eat on New Year's Day. There is, however, much more to the story, as evidenced by Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Bud Kennedy's very comprehensive piece on the subject: http://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/bud-kennedy/article192309964.html

This morning my brother reported dining upon baked eggs with bacon-braised black-eyed peas based on the following recipe: http://www.lavictoria.com/recipe/breakfast-brunch/baked-eggs-bacon-braised-black-eyed-peas/ , and my mother made Texas caviar, which may be described as a black-eyed pea salad. Here is a recipe for Texas caviar: https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/texas-caviar/. This afternoon I, too, headed to the kitchen and made my little pot of prosperity, which looks a lot like my black-bean recipe, though I add bacon and serve it with chow chow.

Considering that my request for the location of chow chow at a couple of different grocery stores was met with puzzled looks, times may be changing in Texas. Verily, it seems that some purveyors of provisions do not even know what chow chow is, much less carry the product. Chow chow, incidentally, is a relish made from green tomatoes, cabbage, and peppers and is generally eaten with red beans. In the past, folks made chow chow just before the first freeze so the tomatoes and such would not go to waste. Today, folks like me buy it in jars at the grocery store.

Once again, happy New Year, and I hope everyone had a heaping helping of black-eyed peas doused in delicious chow chow today. Here are a couple of pictures of my black-eyed peas positioned side-by-side to resemble mugshot photos.