Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Geeking out with beans

Rancho Gordo
My Rancho Gordo beans came today! Let the games begin!

fresh blackeyed peas

When we dropped by Gills farm stand last weekend, they had fresh black-eyed peas. Some of the pods were really green and soft, with young, green beans that hadn't fully developed (you can vaguely see them in the background above, out of focus). To any black-eyed pea experts out there: does that mean they were picked too soon?

fresh blackeyed peas

And Now For Something Completely Different...
Tonight my attention was starting a lamb and lentil (part of the geeking out with beans day) braise which will be finished off tomorrow when I get home from work. So for dinner we whipped together linguine with a simple tomato sauce. Once upon a time, I used to think you had to cook a tomato sauce for hours but it's really not true. Tonight's version took about 40 minutes and was great.
quick pasta sauce

Chop and saute an onion in olive oil, followed by chopped mushroom, sweet yellow pepper, and a whole bunch of parsley. Let it all cook for a few more minutes, then add a can of whole, peeled tomatoes with some salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce for 30 more minutes before breaking up the tomatoes into smaller chunks with a spatula. Taste for salt and serve on some al dente linguine. Fresh, simple, fast, healthy, tasty and filling. All good descriptors for a work-night meal.
linguine

Lastly, we've created an email for the blog for anyone who wants to contact us but doesn't want to leave a public comment: larder -at- constable -dot- net. Pardon my spelling it out that way, but spam bots are such a scourge!

3 comments:

Maggie said...

Fresh black eyed peas, yum! The pasta sauce looks delicious as well.

Stacey Snacks said...

Giff,
I have been hearing SO much about these Rancho Gorda beans. Bloggers talk about them all the time.....I think their business must've skyrotted since the internet.
I will try them too. I love beans in the winter.
S.

Chef E said...

I am a southerner and we ate black eyed peas all year, and if you did not eat them on New Years you were out of 'luck'until the next. I love them cooked with Italian flat beans, tomato, bacon and chilies.