Pickled Black-Eyed Peas (Page 275)

RECIPE #768

• Date: Saturday, June 14, 2008 -- 1pm
• Location: Somerville, MA
• Kitchen: Matty's Apartment
• Fellow Chef: Matty
• Recipe Rating: A-
  

I put off this recipe for a long time because Pickled Black-Eyed Peas didn't sound so good to me. If I had actually read the recipe (and not just the title) I might have realized that everything going into this dish was delicious. Lo and behold, stirred together the ingredients were still delicious. My special gentleman (yawning in bed beside me as I write this) notes, "Refreshing, and healthy." Indeed it was. This was a great recipe for a hot summer day. The acidity from the vinegar and heat from the jalapeno gave the black-eyed peas a nice kick. The yellow and red bell peppers provided a nice color, some textural contrast, and a touch of sweetness. All of the ingredients were well-balanced, creating a recipe that was light and addictive. I found myself standing with the refrigerator door open, eating these beans straight out of the bowl. This recipe was simple and tasty. This is the kind of recipe that makes me glad I am cooking every recipe in The Book. Based on the name, I never would have tried this recipe if I didn't have to, but I really liked it.

Here is the recipe.

This week I am paying for my sins from the two weeks I spent galavanting off in Europe. Week one, in Denmark, I was more or less on task with my running. I stuck to my half-marathon training schedule nearly the whole week. The second week of my trip, in Germany, I was not so good. On several occasions I opted to laze about drinking beer and eating apple strudel when I should have been running. So now, back in Boston, I started this week with 7 miles of running debt. Add to that the 16 miles of running I had scheduled for this week anyway, and it ends up being a 23 mile week for me. (No, I do not believe in forgiving myself the sins of last week and calling it even. If I am unaccountable for the missed miles, there is no incentive not to laze about whenever I feel like it!) Three days and 11 miles into the week, I am feeling the burn (more accurately: I am feeling the blisters). I am trying to make careful mental notes about how un-fun it is to have a bunch of extra miles to make up. That way when I galavant off to California for two weeks in August I will remember not to just laze about drinking beer and eating Mexican food, but also to run according to my schedule! On the up side, a week of eating apple strudel for every meal hasn't seemed to slow me down any. And no doubt next week will be a breeze when my mileage goes down to 18! Now I just have to get through this week...