As long as I can remember, I have been forced encouraged to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s day.  My dad is from Texas and this is a tradition he brings to the family.  Not normally the superstitious one, we have a hard time avoiding eating our annual good luck peas.  Even now when I have my own family and my own household, I get the text or call asking if I’ve had my black-eyed peas.

As a child, I remember the peas tasting exactly like dirt.  Sometime the dirt bits were boiled with ham to make them ham-flavored dirt.  Sometimes they were just plain old boiled dirt.  More than once I ate the dirt like it was a pill: no chewing, just swallowing.

Then my dad discovered the black-eyed pea dip.  This year my recipe looked like this:

2 cans of black eyed peas

1/2 onion chopped coarsely

1 can of Rotel tomatoes

1 package of Women’s Bean Project Green Chili Salsa Mix seasoning*

Juice of half a lime

1 Tbsp of water if the dip seems dry

Put everything together in a bowl the morning of New Years Eve.  Let the flavors mingle during the day.  The dip will be tasty by the evening and even tastier by the next day’s celebrations.

Now it’s not the most appetizing looking dip, but trust me, if you have to eat dirt bits, this is the way to do it.  The dirt flavor is hardly noticeable with all the spices and it’s so easy to put together. To be fair, the dip is also helped by the fact that legumes are trendy now, as opposed to when I was a kid.   Our good luck dip was enjoyed at both our New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day parties.  No one had to be coerced to try it…well, except the kids.  None of the kids ate the dirt dip.  Don’t tell my dad….

Happy New Year!

*The Woman’s Bean Project is one of my favorite local charities, and they ship all over the United States.  Their mission, according to their website, is “to change women’s lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise.  They train impoverished women how to succeed in the workplace”.  Their food is delicious and every purchase helps a woman move toward a sustainable career.  They have helped 800 women move into personal responsibility.  I recommend the salsa dips, the cornbread, and the split pea soup.  Yum!  You can also order their products on Amazon and Overstock.com, or check their website for local retailers in your area.