Jambalaya with Black eyed Peas

"He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world."~ George Washington Carver's gravestone. Doctor Carver introduced crop rotation to the American South where cotton, being the sole crop, had depleted the soil and increased pest population. Peanuts and legumes used in this rotation added nutrients to the soil and allowed it to be restored. One such legume grown in the South was Black Eyed Peas which came to symbolize good fortune especially when consumed on New Year's Day.

Heaven knows we could use a bit of good fortune 'bout now. Which is why I pulled a recipe for Hoppin' John: rice, black eye peas, peppers, sausage, onions... sounds excellent. Longtime friend Linda Erway was telling me about a VERY similar recipe, Jambalaya. Turns out that's what it's called in the South. Her recipe was tried and true and SUPER easy. Easy is #1 in my top 10 criteria for recipes. Linda said you just throw all the ingredients in and cook it like rice. It. was. Awesome. I checked out a couple other recipes and added jalapeño and Aidell's sausage plus a few herbs to her recipe. Highly recommend.


Here is Linda's original recipe and notes~
"Bad pic. Smeared recipe from MANY years of love. I’ve also used chicken broth and any flavor chicken sausage. I think the butter is 1/2c, but....?"

You know a handwritten recipe is good if it gets that much use!

I made it last night with a few mods:

1 tbs EVO

1 Aidell's Mango Jalapeno link

1 Aidell's Andouille link (love all the Aidell's and use them for everything!)

1 sm diced jalapeno (which later got all over my hands and I later rubbed my eye...)

1/2 cup diced onion

2 diced stalks celery 

1 diced red pepper

1 can Black Eyed Peas drained and rinsed

1 cup rice

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cajun seasoning

Add first 6 ingredients to skillet, sauté 3 minutes, add remaining ingredients, cover and cook until rice is tender. BAM! 

Linda Erway has been a friend for, I'm guessing over 20 years now. We did an awful lot of bike riding together a couple of decades ago :) ~

PLUS she is one of my favorite LOCAL artisans, we carry many of her pottery items in Susanville Supermarket. 

Thanks Linda for a dinner idea with a side of LUCK! We're already feeling lucky to have friends like you.