Friends, I want to thank you for the overwhelming response, via comments and email, to my New Year’s Day post January diet? Nope, I bought bigger clothes. Your kind words and sentiments mean so much!
And, because I’m your friend, my boots are made by Novacas and I purchased them from Moo Shoes.
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2011 Resolutions? Nope. Goals? Sort of.
I have decided to approach 2011 with a spirit of anticipation—to look forward to several firsts and repeats as a journey, not a destination. Here are a few things I anxiously await experiencing.
Firsts!
- This year I will not diet.
- I’m taking my first vegan cooking class.
- I’m taking my first food writing class.
- I am attending my first blogging conference. Actually, make that two, as I have registered for both BlogHer and VidaVeganCon!
- I will begin to incorporate more raw foods into my diet.
Repeats!
- As I am not independently wealthy, I will continue to work at my full-time job (which I love!)
- I will continue my advanced graduate studies in Adult Learning.
- I will continue teaching in the nonprofit management program at a local university.
- I will train for my fourth MORE Magazine Women’s Half-Marathon in Central Park.
- I will target at least one triathlon.
Now, on to the beans and greens.
On New Year’s Day I slept in until 7:00. When the temperature hit 40+ I headed out for a four-mile run. Upon my return I showered and put on a fresh pair of pajamas. I had every intention of being a homebody.
I was reading (many, many) food blog posts that featured black-eyed pea recipes. I confess that I knew nothing about the tradition of eating black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year’s Day. I read a great post on Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe and decided that I had to come up with my own version for this tradition because black-eyed peas and collards rank very high on my list of the very best foods in the whole wide world (kale is at the top, obviously).
I have been wanting to create a recipe with my new pressure cooker, as well as to cook with farro since I bought some last month, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to experiment with the two.
JL’s New Year Beans, Greens & Grains
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 2/3 c farro
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 t thyme (dry)
- 1/2 t sweet basil (dry)
- 3/4 c black-eyed peas (dry)
- 2 c liquid (I used 1 cup water + 1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock)
- 1 T Bragg Liquid Aminos
- 1/2 t Yuzu-It pepper sauce (any hot sauce is fine, I just happened to pick this up at a Japanese market on New Year’s Eve and wanted to try it)
METHOD
- Soak farro in water for about 30 minutes (long enough for a nice hot shower post-run).
- Heat the pressure cooker on medium and add the drained farro for a quick toss to toast.
- Add olive oil, onion, garlic, thyme and sweet basil and stir for a few minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, water and black-eyed peas.
- Lock the pressure cooker lid and turn the heat to high.
- Once pressure is reached, adjust the heat to keep the pressure regulator gently rocking for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let the pressure naturally release.
- Stir in the Bragg Liquid Aminos and hot sauce.
I could not have been happier with how this turned out! The black-eyed peas were perfectly done and the farro was lightly chewy (you don’t want it too mushy or too chewy).
Since one of my 2011 “firsts” is to incorporate more raw food into my diet, I decided to serve the black-eyed peas and farro in a raw collard green
to make a “wrap.” This was delicious and a really great post-run meal.
We slept through the clock hitting midnight on New Year’s Eve
so at noon on New Year’s Day we welcomed 2011 in with a glass of Prosecco and a meal that will surely bring us a prosperous year!
Do you have any 2011 “firsts” or goals you would like to share?
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