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J: Last week, I made black-eyed peas because I heard they were a traditional New Year's dish and this was the first Sunday Dinner of the new year. Remarkably, there we about 17 attendees. I don't know anything more about the tradition than that, but what else goes with black-eyed peas except cornbread and greens? I threw in some Jambalaya too. You already have the Jambalaya recipe, and the cornbread recipe is from the corn meal box. For the greens, I used collard and mustard greens. I chopped and boiled them for about 20 minutes. In a big pot, I melted some margerine, added chopped garlic, and sauteed for a few minutes. Then I added lemon juice, lemon zest, and the drained greens, and tossed. One attendee commented that she always thought she didn't like greens, but now realized they don't have to prepared the way she was used to having them. This black-eyed peas recipe is from _Vegetarian Cooking for Eveyone_ by Deborah Madison. I scaled up big time -- here's my version. 4 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoon butter 3 onion, diced 3 green bell pepper, diced 4 celery rib, diced 4 bay leaves 1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 8 garlic cloves, minced 1 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 pounds dried black-eyed peas 4 quarts vegetable stock Salt Saute onion, bell pepper, celery, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic in the oil and butter for 15 minutes. Add allspice and red pepper and saute for a few minutes more. Add the peas and stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer partially covered for 40 minutes. Add salt to taste (several teaspoons) and simmer until tender (about 20 minutes).