Pink eyed peas

What do you get if you cross:

Pink

with

Black Eyed Peas

Pink Eyed Peas! Hahahahahaha.

OK, I couldn't help it.

On to the real post.
About actual pink-eyed peas.

I was fortunate enough to be in the neighborhood of Beasley Farms a few weeks ago. Beasley Farm is not certified organic, but they practice "sustainable farming methods" and most important to me- they do not use pesticides. I try to stop by their farm stand any time I'm in the area.

This time, I purchased several kinds of Southern peas. Now, I've never cooked Southern peas before, and I had NO idea what to do with them, but was willing to try to figure it out.

Some of the peas were shelled, some were still in the shell. I took some of both.

The owner asked "Are you sure? Those aren't shelled yet" I said "Sure! I'll shell them." (as if I had any idea what I was talking about) Ha!

Lesson learned: When the grower asks "Are you sure" you really ought to pay attention.

Here is my first batch of Pink-eyed peas, in the shell. As you have probably surmised, they are like Black-eyed peas, only pink. I thought they tasted a little milder than black-eyed peas. They are very pretty, don't you think?

Here is a close up:

Unwashed, unshelled peas- straight from the field that morning!

So, I sat down in front of the TV to shell peas. How hard could it be? 

Bailey helped. Bailey loves it when I sit on the floor for a project. He thinks that's his cue to help out.

OK, so it wasn't difficult. But it was tedious. It was fun for about the first 15 minutes. Then I looked at my teeny tiny pile of shelled peas and my huge bag of unshelled peas and it seemed I hadn't gotten anywhere. 

It took a long time. 

They were yummy. But- next time I'll definitely buy them already shelled. I was glad I didn't buy a whole bushel! Did you know they actually sell produce by the bushel? That's an actual measure. This was half a bushel. She warned me that half a bushel wouldn't be very many peas after they were shelled. That was true- but that was ok. I just wanted to try them, and in the end, I was glad there were not more to shell.