better than black-eyes

Just read their delicate, poetic name -- Lady Cream Peas. Can’t you feel them melting in your mouth, with perhaps a hint of dairy and plenty of salty liquor? (That’s the liquid surrounding cooked legumes, for the teetotalers out there…)

And this is just what these perfect little beans do. Ever so much more aristocratic than the lowly purple hull, yards more fragile in flavor than brash black eyes, and infinitely more complex than any that arrive in a can, the Lady Cream Pea is a precious, fresh-butter-colored legume that is a bit harder to find than the aforementioned lesser varieties.

But Canton (which, as you know if you’re from East Texas, markets everything that could possibly be sold, whether quilts or Corian cutting boards) happens to house Sides Pea Farm, and if you’re clever enough to stop by their produce stand at Highway 19 and I-20, you can snag a bag of Lady Creams for a few dollars. You’ll never go back to black eyes, even to ring in the New Year.

And have a happy one, by the way!

Lady Cream Peas

2 cups fresh Lady Creams
A pat of butter
S&P

Cover the fresh peas in plenty of water and set to a low, rolling boil for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. About five minutes from done, add the butter and douse with salt and pepper. Serve hot, and in a big bowl.