I’m a little bit crunchy.
I’ve got kombucha brewing on my counter, my last birth was with a midwife, and we sometimes eat vegan.
I also eat at Chick-Fil-A at least once a week, just to keep perspective.
Vegan started out as more of a discipline when we did the Daniel Fast, but after adjusting to the new way of eating and the result of how we felt afterwards, it became more of a default setting we try to have.
I believe quite strongly that food should taste good. So while some people can do vegan and be fine with bean burritos and salads, that wasn’t going to fly in this house.
Through some experimenting, I’ve found some vegan go-to’s when we need a quick reset. This one is on top of my list!
This recipe does well with a little forethought of soaking the beans overnight, but if thinking ahead isn’t your strong suit, you can follow the directions below, which is exactly what I did when I made it. Because forethought is NOT my strong suit when it comes to dinner. If you do soak your beans overnight then you can skip the boiling step and just add the tomatoes and seasonings. This makes for a super quick dinner! I’m sure you could do this in a crock pot too!
Smoky Black Eyed Peas with Sautéed Swiss Chard
2 cups dried black eyed peas (you could also use canned, but texture will not be on your side)
1 28 oz. can Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes
1 Tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
a few dashes of hot sauce
2 bunches swiss chard (or other hearty leafy green like spinach or kale) stemmed and chopped
olive oil
Place dried black eyed peas in a large pot and cover with water. Make sure there is plenty of water, at least an inch or two over the peas. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil for 30 minutes, adding water to keep peas covered if necessary. Drain the water, rinse the peas, and drain again. Add tomatoes, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and hot sauce. Stir together, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes or until peas are tender. Add water throughout process if needed. Once peas are tender, remove from heat and set to the side. In a skillet bring 1 tablespoon olive oil to high heat. Once oil is hot, add chopped swiss chard (be careful as it will likely splatter when hitting heat). Sauté swiss chard for a few minutes until lightly wilted and cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle black eyed peas into a shallow bowl and top with wilted chard.
I served this with the most insanely delicious vegan cornbread I have ever had. In fact, it was so good, I may start making my cornbread vegan all the time! I used this recipe, but didn’t add sugar (we added honey and Earth Balance to our baked cornbread!), and used almond milk instead of soy. It was so light and tender!