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Health & Fitness

The Real Houswife of Douglasville on Purple Hull Peas

A New Recipe and A New Idea!!

The Real Housewife of Douglasville on Purple Hull Peas

So the last installment from the RH included a recipe and I gushed a bit about my new favorite store, The Farmer’s Table.  I promised another recipe too and it is forthcoming, but first, some news!!  Several readers have included questions in the comments following the Real Housewife’s blog.  I was at a writer’s workshop this past weekend (go Lauretta Hannon, author of The Cracker Queen) and in a challenge to further our writing endeavors it came upon me to offer you an advice column.  Now, depending on the quantity (and quality) of questions, it may not remain an advice column, but at the encouragement of my fellow Cracker Queens, I am going to give this a go.   You may remain anonymous or give your name.  Send your questions to therealhousewifeofdouglasville@yahoo.com. How exciting is this! 

So, send your questions and we will dish.  And speaking of dishes, I promised the purple hull pea recipe, didn’t I?  OK, the first part is not so fun, unless you are watching General Hospital which has been heating up quite a bit here lately.   If you watch this, the peas will be shelled before you know it.  Get your peas (at The Farmer’s Table) and shell them.   You can snap the small pods and throw them in too.  Give them a quick rinse and “look” them for bad ones if you didn’t pick them out before while you were shelling which I may not always do if General Hospital is particularly good that day.  Put them in a good sized stock pot and cover with water.  Add a little salt, remember if you are using salt pork there will be salt in that as well, but usually not enough.  Throw in a few slices of salt pork or fat back, either one and bring them to a boil.  I like to do a slow rolling boil until they are tender, around 30 minutes or so, just try one and see if it is the consistency you want.

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You will want cornbread too.  I don’t really have a recipe.  I learned from the Original Housewife of Powder Springs, Shirley, AKA my mom, and she measures nothing.  What we do is take cornmeal, buttermilk, one egg and I use cooking oil, the Original Housewife still uses Crisco, and you mix this until it is a thick but pourable consistency.  Shoot, I forgot!  Before you do all that, take an iron skillet (I have one that my Grandma used!! ) and grease it good and go ahead and  put it in the oven to get hot.  Oven temp should be about 400.  OK, NOW go mix up your cornbread ingredients and pour into hot iron skillet and bake until golden brown. 

Occasionally, I get real creative with my cornbread and throw in a can of creamed corn, chopped green onions, grated cheddar and sliced jalapenos.  This wonderful concoction needs nothing else.  This IS your meal.

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OK, got off track.  When your peas and bread are done you take a hank of cornbread in a bowl and pour your beans, along with some pot liquor (you do know what that is right?).  Top it any way you want.  Sometimes some chopped fresh onion, or my favorite, hot chow chow.  Add a tall glass of very sweet iced tea  (sorry, no wine to pair with this, it’s got to be tea) and that, my friends, is dinner.

Now go eat and send me some questions.

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