Good riddance, 2010

Not that it was all that bad, but we can do better.

My free will astrology horoscope told me to think *big* in 2011. Sounds good, right? So I went for the good luck with some new year's black-eyed peas and collard greens. I veganized this fritter recipe by substituting chickpea flour and a little water for the egg and half of the regular flour. Then I spiced it up a bit. I also pan-fried these instead of deep frying, but even that was a bit much, so I ended up baking the leftover batter* a couple days later.

Black-eyed Pea Fritters

1. Cook about 3/4 or 1 C dried black-eyed peas until soft (going for about 2 C cooked, or just one can)
2. Chop about half an onion
3. 2 T flour
4. 2 T chickpea flour
5. 1/2 t salt
6. 1/4 t or so smoked paprika
7. 1/2 t or more dried thyme
8. 1/t or so liquid smoke



Blend it all together with maybe 2-3 T of water, then shape into little patties and fry or bake. I pan-fried, but most fritters are deep fried. As a result I think my onions could have been a little more cooked. Next time I'd saute them first to avoid that. But the flavors ended up great with the peas, tomato sauce (just cooked down onion, garlic, stewed chopped tomatoes, and a couple bay leaves), collard greens (cooked with a little of the tomato sauce, salt, liquid smoke), and some quinoa.





Here's a picture of the baked version, with more collards cooked with onions and tomatoes. I didn't have any more tomato sauce, so I ate these with some barbecue sauce. The baked ones didn't have that crispy fried magic thing going for them, but they did get nice and browned and the onion got a little more cooked. Really it could go either way.



I've got a few holiday-related baking and candy-making recipes to share soon. New year's resolution - post more often and make more interesting food.

Happy new year!

*Dough? Goop?

Sweet potato greens!

A new kind of greens! New to me, at least. But that doesn't exactly happen every day. I came across these at the farmer's market, and had to get them. Aren't they pretty?



I sauteed some of them simply, with salt, pepper, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil - the usual greens treatment. They're really good - kind of like a mix of spinach and beet greens - more substantial than spinach, but less bitter than a lot of greens and a tiny bit sweet.

Then the rest I wilted with sauteed actual sweet potatoes, and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and a little maple syrup. Have you ever heard that Paul Simon's song Mother and Child Reunion was inspired by a chicken omelet? I don't know if it's true, but this was sort of like the vegan version of that.



If you come across these I recommend picking some up, if only because new vegetables are exciting.