Southern Black Eyed Peas

Mmmm southern cookin' to warm the soul on these chilly (Australian), winter evenings!

This is a family favorite and is traditionally done with a large ham hock! We weren't up for a grocery store run but had lots of bacon on hand and it worked just fine! Also, collard greens instead of green bell pepper is preferred, but again, we were working with what we had. However, the added jalapeño's (comparing to my dads recipe) were spicy delicious! We also threw in a bit of Vegemite, since we're doing this Southern dish Aussie style!

Ingredients

• 2 cups black eyed peas, dried
• Handful of thick cut bacon, or 'bacon rashers'
• 1 large yellow onion (or 2 small onions)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 4-6 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp Vegemite
• 1/3 cup pickled jalapeño slices, chopped
• 4-6 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp Creole Seasoning (Tony Chachere's Original is my fav)
• Salt/Pepper, to taste
• Optional (but highly recommended): fresh, southern corn bread
• w/ sweet whipped butter and honey!

Directions

1. Pre-soak the black eyed peas in a large bowl with enough water to cover the peas with a 3 inch clearance. Let soak for 3-4 hours.
2. Cook slices of bacon in a large pot on medium/low heat until cooked through, but still soft. Take bacon out and set aside.
3. In the bacon greased pot, toss in the onion and garlic and cook on medium/low heat until onion is translucent. Stir in the bell pepper, mushrooms, and vegemite and cook on medium/low heat for 5 mins. Slice up the bacon to whatever size pieces you prefer. Add bacon to pot along with the jalapeño. Add water, depending on how thick/thin you prefer your broth (keep in mind: dipping for corn bread). Add bay leaf, Creole Seasoning, salt/pepper and give a good stir. Bring to a boil and keep a low boil for ~15 mins, or until the black eyed peas are not hard in the center. Turn off heat and allow to cool for an hour or two, while the flavors continue to be absorbed (it will still be hot after 1-2 hours). 
4. While the peas are in the cooling process, cook up some real southern corn bread and serve with sweet butter and honey! Enjoy! 

Our homemade corn bread and from the cast iron
skillet and sweet honey butter, thanks to the bf.

Voilà! Southern comfort :)