This week begins a new series in Tastes Like Home. It is called, On My Plate (OMP). OMP is a series in which I will share with you what I’m eating. People often think that because I write about food I am always eating something fancy or ultra-gourmet. I do, sometimes. But that is not the norm for me. I like simple food. I like everyday food. Often when I cook and make things – particularly for this column – I gravitate to what I think that home cooks like myself can handle given our penchant for experimenting, trying new ingredients and flavours, hence, Tastes Like Home.
OMP will feature things thrown together because I need to clean out the refrigerator; things made in a hurry; making do with what is there; using up leftovers; things I have seen, heard, or read about that do not seem complicated and decide to give a try, and finally, things I am eating because I don’t feel like cooking.
On My Plate today is Stewed Chicken with Black-Eyed Peas. This is a dish I first had when I was a very young child; I am talking single digits here. We had spent the day at the home of family friends and for lunch Auntie Marjorie made stewed chicken with black-eyed peas and served it with white rice. This was new to me because while my mom made stewed chicken it was always with only chicken or sometimes there might be potatoes in the stew but never any type of beans or peas. That meal has stayed with me. Talk about the power of food and memories.
The other day in reminiscing about childhood days and lost contacts, I remembered this meal and how wonderful that day was because it was spent playing with toys, and there were so many. As the weekend approached there I was, yet again, wondering what to cook. I wanted a one-pot dish that I could have with different starches or steamed vegetables because given my hectic work schedule, there would be no time to cook during the week.
In the midst of thinking, I kid you not, I got a call from one of my friends who has a farm and rears her own chickens. She told me that she’d be killing chickens on the weekend if I needed any. Duh-huh, yeah. And just like that I knew I was going to make stewed chicken with black-eyed peas. I always have a variety of legumes stocked.
I do not know how Auntie Marjorie made her stew, but I made mine using one of the ways I know to make stew. The chicken was cut into large pieces and seasoned with green seasoning, salt and pepper, along with a few sprinkles of some dried seasoning powders, dashes of Worcestershire, soy, and pepper sauce. The black-eyed peas, plump from an overnight soaking, were par cooked alone as they would take longer to cook than the chicken.
With the oil heated, I caramelized some brown sugar to which the chicken and all its juices were added, tossed, and cooked down before the black-eyed peas and the cooking liquid were added to the pot, mixed well, brought to boil, covered, and left to simmer until everything was fully cooked.
It was the perfect one-pot dish because I ate it with plain rice, boiled ground provisions, steamed vegetables, and bread – of course not all at once. I wasn’t feeling like rice that first day of the stew, so I had it with a combination of boiled sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and steamed ripe plantains. As the days went by, as is the case with certain dishes, the stew got tastier, improving in flavour. I do not know why it has taken me this long, decades later to make this dish. I am so glad I did and will definitely be incorporating peas and beans to my stews.
What’s on your plate?
Cynthia
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