Lady Peas & Speckled Butter Beans

 

Lady peas are considered the queen of cow peas or field peas. They are not green peas or snap peas; they are cow peas or field peas. Some folks call them creamers. Saturday, we ventured to 7M Farms for lady peas. While we were there, we found some unprocessed apple smoked bacon to flavor the peas. As we got to the counter I saw some speckled butter beans, or lima beans, so I got some of those as well. Above are the lady peas, the photo for the butter beans is last.

Wash the lady peas in a colander at least twice, replacing the water, and running your hand through the water to bring up any errant debris from the shelling process, like a shell or a puny pea. I used a kitchen scissors to cut some of the bacon into bite sized pieces and sautéed the bacon to render some of the fat. (Be sure to clean your scissors well after cutting bacon). Once the bacon is rendered but still soft, add half a chopped onion and cook till softened and translucent. Next, I added 3 cups of water and the lady peas.

At the Blairsville Farmers Market, I got some of these stripey tomatoes, which is what Roger Gerber in Booth 4 called them. They are larger than a cherry (about double) but smaller than large tomatoes. You have to look close to see the stripes, but they are there. I wonder if they are Chocolate Sprinkles.

Notice the bottom end has a point?  Do you have any more details as to the actual variety because there are lots of stripey tomatoes? I added about eight of these tomatoes chopped into bite sized pieces to the lady peas along with salt, pepper, dried thyme, and a tablespoon of tomato paste. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 45 minutes or more till peas are soft and creamy and liquid cooks down. I used the same process for the speckled butter beans but gave them more bacon, more tomatoes, some garlic, and Spanish tarragon.

Please don't tell me you don't like field peas, or you can do without them. Looking at the benefits of eating field peas, you should be overwhelmingly convinced they are good for you, and you need to add them to your diet. They are so delicious and in summer you can cook them on the stove top, rather than the oven, cutting down on excess heat in your home. Well, you might have to turn on the oven to cook up a batch of corn bread to serve with the peas. Enjoy.