Ever since I was a little girl, my mother used to force black-eyed peas down my throat on New Year’s Day. She said that it was a lucky bean that would make the year extra-special. Legend has it that during the Civil War, fields of black-eyed peas were among the only crops that weren’t destroyed by General Sherman’s troops. The Union soldiers thought that the delicious legumes were livestock feed and subsequently left them alone. The little pea became a staple for surviving Confederates. It earned its place as the go-to comfort food for any respectable Southerner.
Whether or not legend holds true, it’s the only Southern tradition that I consistently force upon all of my friends. Besides, who doesn’t need a little bit of luck and prosperity throughout the year?
In honor of my favorite, lucky legume, here’s a recipe for you to try on New Year’s Day to keep the tradition alive!
Ingredients:
1 bag of Stahlbush Island Farms Black-Eyed Peas
1 pound spicy bulk pork sausage
1 chopped large onion
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½ teaspoons fresh ground white pepper
1 ½ teaspoons salt
4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups long-grained rice
Directions:
In a large Dutch oven, cook the sausage, onion, and garlic over medium heat. Break up the sausage by stirring often for about 10 minutes. Pour off the excess fat. Add the peas, red pepper flakes, half a teaspoon of salt, white pepper and a dash of water. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Meanwhile bring the beef broth, butter, and 1 tsp of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice and simmer covered until rice is cooked, about 20 minutes. Fluff the rice and transfer to a serving dish. Pour peas on top. Mix well and serve.
Here’s another yummy recipe using black beans and corn.
2 cups Black Beans
1 cup Stahlbush Island Farms Super Sweet Corn
1 cup celery
½ cup red pepper
½ teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt, pepper & red cayenne pepper (to taste)
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight for flavors to blend.
If you’re in a pinch and need something fast, easy, healthy, and delicious to serve in 10 minutes, this recipe will be your new best friend. Courtesy of The Big Book of Easy Suppers by Martha Vollstedt.
Ingredients:
12-inch pizza crust, purchased or homemade
½ cup fresh tomato salsa (or the fancy kind purchased)
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup black beans (I used Stahlbush Brown Rice & Black Bean mix)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup Stahlbush Island Farms frozen super sweet corn
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup sliced black olives
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pizza crust on a pan or baking sheet. Spread salsa on crust within a half an inch to the edge. Spread one cup of cheese over the salsa. Add beans, cilantro, corn, bell pepper, and olives. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for about 10 minutes. Makes 8 slices.
Note: You don’t have to defrost the Stahlbush ingredients. You can add them right out of the 100% biodegradable freezer bag.
Have you ever wondered how Stahlbush Island Farms got its start? This two-minute video, narrated by one of the owners Karla S. Chambers, was created by Whole Foods as part of an ongoing series called the Whole Story. It’s amazing! It captures the essence of who we are in the most flawless way imaginable. Make sure to find our products at your local Whole Foods. Enjoy!
Read the blog post from Whole Foods about Stahlbush here
I tried this the other night and loved it. It’s a recipe from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa.
Ingredients:
1 Frozen bag of Stahlbush Island Farms cauliflower
2-3 cloves of garlic (unpeeled)
4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper
¼ cup minced parsley
3 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Directions:
On a sheet pan toss cauliflower with garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1-teaspoon pepper. Spread the mixture in a single layer and roast for 20 to 25 minutes and toss it twice. Move the cauliflower into a large bowl with garlic and pan juices. Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, parsley, pine nuts, and lemon juice. Sprinkle another ½ teaspoon salt, toss well and serve warm.
Toasting pine nuts:
Place nuts in dry sauté pan. Cook over low heat tossing often until lightly browned, 10 minutes.
This is my absolute favorite cheesecake recipe of all time. It’s one of the desserts that we served at the Corvallis Wine Walk. It may sound intense, but it only takes 5 minutes to prepare and 35 to bake. However, if you have never made cheesecake before, be aware that it has to refrigerate overnight. There is no instant gratification in homemade cheesecakes:) The wait is so worth it!
In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Press the nut mixture firmly into bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 10 minutes, or until the edge is golden brown. Cool before adding the filling.
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
½ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
2 large eggs
Directions:
In medium bowl beat cream cheese. Gradually add sugar, vanilla, salt. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl, beat 1 minute. Pour into crust and bake for 35 minutes at 325 degrees.
Remove cheesecake from oven and spread on topping. Bake until topping set about 10 minutes longer. Let cool on wire rack then cover and refrigerate overnight.
Boysenberry sauce:
1 bag Stahlbush Island Farms frozen boysenberries
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
½ tsp lemon zest
2 tsp cornstarch
In a saucepan over medium high heat combine all ingredients and cook stirring constantly until thickened (5 minutes). Let cool to room temp before serving.
At a recent food expo, one of our pumpkin lovers shared her favorite recipe with me. Last night I was in the mood for pumpkin but all I could remember were the ingredients for the pumpkin shake. Before I knew it, the blender was out and an entire can of Farmer’s Market Organic Pumpkin, coconut milk, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon were churning furiously in the wonderful glass contraption. It wasn’t quite sweet enough for me, so I added some French vanilla yogurt and a little more vanilla. I poured the whole mixture into a mason jar and left it to chill overnight.
This morning for breakfast I had a little glass. The recipe still needs to be perfected, but it was still pretty darn good. I was so energized that I almost didn’t need any coffee…almost. I made my best time yet on my morning bike ride to work. And even though, cartwheels have gone out of fashion for grown-ups, I still feel like I could do a round of them in the office.
Let’s face it, cloudy Tuesday’s can get you down. Thanks to our new best friend, our spirits are lifted to monumental heights. We received this one in our inbox that made us all smile, laugh, and generally love life and our frozen berries even more (if that’s possible). Here’s what it said:
****
Dear Stahlbush,
I love your frozen berries. I make a delicious smoothie with them every morning. Here’s what makes you so great:
–Your berries are always plump, fresh, and bursting with flavor.
–Your farming practices are great for the earth.
-Your bags are the best on the market, easy to open, no plastic flavor residue, and aesthetically, as pleasing as can be.
I’d like to offer you a deal. Keeping being awesome and I’ll keep filling my shopping cart with your berries!
***
We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. Just in case you are wondering, we always strive for awesomeness…so it’s a deal ♥
We made these delicious thumb cookies filled with both strawberry and marion blackberry jam at an event. It was so yummy that we thought we’d share the recipe via allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter
1/3 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 egg whites
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease cookie sheets. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolks, vanilla, and salt. Gradually mix in flour. Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. Place them about 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets. Press down center with thumb.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. Just before serving, fill centers with strawberry or marion blackberry jam.
2 frozen bags of Stahlbush Island Farms strawberries
OR 2 frozen bags of Stahlbush Island Farms Marion Blackberries
4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Directions:
In a large bowl, crush strawberries or marion blackberries. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries (or marion blackberries), sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F. If you plan to eat the jam right away, it can go straight into the refrigerator. However, if you want to save some for later, transfer the jam to hot sterile jars and be sure to leave 1/4 to 1/2 inch between the seal. Process in a water bath.
