I once wrote on instagram that bread and water with people is better than a feast alone. People feed our soul just as much as food feeds our body.

At that time I invited a new couple from church to dinner to start the new year and to make a genuine connection. The man now comes to my husband’s men’s group and it’s been a very important relationship of support for both of them.

The New Testament reminds us that the second commandment is to love others as ourselves. If we live on-line, if we never have people into our home, if we never serve people, we aren’t doing that.

It’s funny, because on another New Year’s day, I went to a new church and met a lady named Chris, who invited me to the church’s faith sharing group for women before I even entered as we met at the door.

It’s a book club for Catholic women and that first book on the cardinal virtues was life changing. I had forgotten how important a focus on these virtues is, prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice.

A Great Book to Embrace in the New Year

The Art of Living: Cardinal Virtues and the Freedom to Love by Edward Sri is a fantastic manual for connecting and living righteously and I highly recommend it.

That was in 2023 and several books later, I’m still part of the group. A handful of us go to lunch afterward and that’s where the relationships really take place. I often wonder about the ladies that have never joined us for lunch, because it’s at those lunches that I’ve learned their stories and truly have felt their love.

Maybe a goal for 2025 is fostering friendships. Start with some new year’s traditions.

New Year’s Food Traditions

• There are many food traditions for the new year all around the world. Here are a few:
• Pork: eaten as pigs root forward. 
• Black Eyed Peas: peas for pennies (prosperity). 
• Greens for Prosperity
• Cornbread for Gold 

Growing up in Pennsylvania, we always had pork and sauerkraut, as cabbage is considered one of the good luck foods. Here in the south, it’s all about the black eyed peas, greens and cornbread. 

 I decided to make carnitas (pork) with corn tortillas and our guests brought a delicious cabbage slaw.  Black eyed peas cowboy caviar was the perfect starter. We were covered with all the good luck foods in a non-traditional way. 

This dinner was so good that I think it will be our new year’s tradition from now on. 

What is Cowboy Caviar?

Typically cowboy caviar, also known as Texas caviar (sometimes Tennessee caviar) is a mixture of beans (maybe corn) onion, jalapeño, cilantro, oil, vinegar and meant to be eaten with tortilla chips as a dip. 

There are a hundred ways to make it and I chose to use black eyed peas and black beans. I skipped the corn because it’s winter and the only time I want to add corn is when I can grill it and cut it off the cob. Honestly, it’s not necessary, as we all thought this version cowboy caviar was just right. The four of us ate almost the entire bowl. 

Ingredients for Black Eyed Peas Cowboy Caviar

The main ingredients are black beans, black eyed peas, pickled red onion,  cilantro, lime juice. I added in a mixture of brightly colored bell peppers, because I just happened to have them left over from this pizza recipe. Avocado is an option and should be added right before serving. Salt is a must and you will need to taste for seasoning before serving. 

The secret to the brightness and flavor in the dip the pickled red onion and jalapenos. I am not a raw onion fan, but I do like pickled onion and thought that acid will give these beans what they need. I was right.

Pickled Red Onion in 30 minutes. 

I found a recipe from the Kitchn that was pretty easy to use.

• Slice red onion in half moons. Place in colander. 
• Pour two cups of boiling water over the onions. 
• Pour a cup of vinegar into jar. I used half cider vinegar, half balsamic.
• Add peppercorns, seasonings and a teaspoon of sugar. 
• Add onion. 
• Ready in 30 minutes. 

Make the pickled onion the night before so the flavors meld. The beans will not get mushy and will be absolutely delicious. I didn’t add any seasonings to the vinegar.

Tips for Black Eyed Peas Cowboy Caviar

• Make sure to rinse the beans in cold water to remove the sodium. 
• Make a day ahead for full flavor profile. 
• If you don’t use pickled onion, you will need to add vinegar to bring acid to the dish.
• Salt liberally. 
• Add avocado right before serving.

Playing around, in the summer, add some chopped tomato and grilled corn (off the cob). 

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Cowboy Caviar with Black Eyed Peas

A perfect starter for tacos, made with black beans, black eyed peas, pickled onion

Course Appetizer

Cuisine tex mex

Keyword black beans, black eyed peas, cowbow caviar

Prep Time 4 minutes minutes

Resting Time for Pickled Onion 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can black eyed peas
• 1 red bell pepper (or a mix of colors) small dice
• 3 tablespoons pickled onion small dice
• 1 jalapeno pepper or serrano
• 1 handful cilantro chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar, if needed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 avocado diced (optional)

Pickled Red Onion

• 1/2 red onion sliced into half moons
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar optional
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns or some black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic cut in half

Instructions

• Rinse beans in colander in cold water. Set aside.
• Dice peppers, onions in very small dice.
• Mix beans, peppers, onions.
• Toss with olive oil.
• The pickled onions may be enough vinegar. If not add a teaspoon or two.
• Add cilantro.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add avocado right before serving.

Pickled Onion

• Slice into thin half moons and place in colander.
• Pour boiling water over onion.
• Put vinegar in jar with sugar and peppercorns.
• Put onion in jar. Will be ready in 30 minutes. Dice fine for the bean dip.

The post Cowboy Caviar Recipe with Pickled Onion – New Year Tradition appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I’ve been saving this hearty, easy, 30-minute meal for cold weather. It’s finally here, and my body wants to warm up.

You might be thinking what is black-eyed pea chili, but trust me, it’s so good.

I’m really the biggest fan of beans, but I couldn’t stop eating this. Maybe it’s the country sausage that added very fast flavor in less than 30 minutes.

Sausage is a great addition to black-eyed pea chili.

You can do your own substituting with another sausage, but country sausage and black eyed peas just makes good culinary sense.

My favorite kitchen pots are my dutch ovens. I have several. The nice thing about them is that you can put the lid on and put them in the oven. You can turn your oven very low and cook like a slow cooker or keep warm without worrying about the burning the bottom. This 6-quart Emerald Green Dutch Oven from Lodge is very affordable.

I received the white soup crock as a gift and I found a set with lids here.  These are the cutest and the kiddos love individual soup crocks too. By the way kids, love sausage black-eyed pea chili too.

If you love traditional chili, my husband’s recipe for five bean chili can be found here. I also have a paleo chili recipe here that is made with beef and sausage.

Black-Eyed Pea Chili with Country Sausage is a perfect winter’s meal that you can make after work easily. You can prep the onions and veggies in advance and have a satisfying, yet fast easy real food meal.

More Soups and Stews from Spinach Tiger

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Country Sausage Black Eyed Peas Chili

Black Eyed Peas Chili, south of somewhere pairs with country sausage for a unique flavor, done in under 30 minutes.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
• 8 spicy sausage patties
• 2 cans black eyed peas rinsed and drained
• 1 16- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 can water
• 3-4 tablespoons chili spice from your favorite mix
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
• 1/2 red bell pepper diced 1/2 cup
• 1/2 green bell pepper diced 1/2 cup
• I medium onion diced, approximately 1 cup
• cilantro chopped
• shredded cheese optional garnish
• sour cream optional garnish

Instructions

• Break sausage up and heat in a cold heavy bottomed pan. Stir frequently until cooked through.
• Add oil to pan.
• Add in onions, and bell pepper until softened, cooking for 3-5 minutes on low heat.
• Rinse black eyed peas in cold water and drain.
• Add in can of tomatoes with all its juices, black eyed peas, and one can water.
• Add 1/2 package of chili seasoning, either half of the package or 3-4 tablespoons.
• Season with salt, black pepper.
• Cook on very low heat for 30-60 minutes.
• Stir every ten minutes or so. If the chili is still too dry, add a little more water to the pan.
• Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and chopped cilantro.
• Cooking Notes: You can substitute canned beans with another kind of bean. This is for four dinner servings, so you may want to double the ingredients for a larger batch. As far as bell peppers, you can use a red bell pepper or a green bell pepper instead of both.

Notes

If you decide to cook this longer, you may need to add in more liquid.

The post Country Sausage Black-Eyed Pea Chili appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Husking fresh corn for corn salad says summer is here, the crops are in, and the food we wait all year for is ready to go. While we here  in the Nashville area don’t grow our own avocados, we do grow corn and tomatoes and we cherish these two crops.  Fact is, around here, try to tell someone you don’t eat corn or tomatoes, and you might just hear the click of a shot gun.

Just kidding, of course, but those words would still muster up some mistrust and a careful observation of your music collection. Just don’t dare say you don’t like Johnny Cash. I don’t care if you’re a rocker, a punker, a rapper,  a dead head or a Beiber freak, you better not talk trash against Johnny Cash. That would downright unamerican around these parts.

All in fun, of course, I think we Nashvillians are a friendly people who like our food and especially our cookouts. On July 4th, I brought this salad over to a neighbor’s party, and it was a big hit, even if a few out of towners called it “dip.” Husband followed suit and started eating it with potato chips and I started to think maybe I should have serve it with corn chips, but it was intended to be a salad. Open minded as I am, I started to think, this could be a dip, or if we want to get fancy, a topping for a crostini.

Use Fresh Ingredients for Avocado Corn Salad and a Champagne Vinegar

The ingredients are freshly husked corn, red onion garden tomatoes, black eyed peas, avocado, thyme, basil, olive oil, lime juice, lime zest and champagne vinegar. I’m going to give you a recipe, but feel free to mix the ratio up anyway you see fit. Don’t skip the black eyed peas, though, as they add in a very satisfying texture. Do add in some cayenne pepper; I really wanted to do that, but there were a few non-spice guests, so I kept the heat out.

Did you know you can make corn on the cob in four minutes? Simply remove the corn silk, leave in husk, wash (sometimes there are bugs). Put in microwave for four minutes.It will slip right out of the husk. So easy. We do this all the time, and if the corn was just picked, we don’t even put salt or butter. It’s perfect naked.

As far as peeling avocado, did you know that it’s pretty easy, and it looks cool.

Tell me what kind of salads do you bring to parties?

If you love corn, check out seven ways to grill corn on the cob.

More Salad Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Corn Avocado Salad, Tomato, Black Eyed Peas

A summer salad with heft, can be a side, or a meal.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 260kcal

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 10 ears of corn or 4 cans corn
• 1 can black eyed peas
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 1 avocado cut into chunks
• 3 tomatoes chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1 lime for the juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 black pepper

Instructions

• Cover each corn with wet paper towel. Place in microwave 3 ears at a time.
• Cook for four minutes. The corn will fall right out of the husk.
• Once cooled shuck corn and cut corn into a bowl.
• Rinse the black eyed well with cold water.
• Chop onion, tomatoes.
• Mix with onion, tomatoes, black eyed peas. Toss with just enough olive oil to glisten salad. Sprinkle vinegar, and mix.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Taste for seasoning to see if you need to add more vinegar or salt.
• Squeeze lime juice over the avocado and mix in right before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 11g | Fiber: 7g

The post Corn Avocado Salad, Tomato, Black Eyed Peas and Four-Minute Corn on the Cob appeared first on Spinach Tiger.