Blackeyed Peas and Wild Rice

Happy New Year!

I remember my Mom making blackeyed peas every new year and she would force one bite down me so we wouldn't be destitute for the next year. She was very superstitious, you know, turning around if a black cat crossed our path, never venturing under a ladder, and having to say "cut the butter" if we had to split up walking around a pole. I am not superstitious at all but I like the tradition and comfort of having certain foods at designated times.
 I sort of look at food as seasonal even though my girls say that what I do is completely arbitrary. Some examples are that I like to save oatmeal cookies and pot roast for fall, tres leches cake and fish tacos for summer and toffee and beef burgundy for winter.
New years day equals blackeyed peas so I had to come up with a recipe that would make me want to eat them. An old boyfriend introduced me to a blackeyed pea casserole that I couldn't stop eating. Unfortunately, it relied on bacon and bacon fat so I clearly had to come up with something new when my daughters got older and opinionated.

Here is the recipe we are all happy with:

1 onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary chopped
1 15.8 oz. can of blackeyed peas drained ( I used Bush's)
1 C homemade vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 C wild rice cooked in homemade vegetable broth cooked according to instructions (I used Lundberg Wild Blend)

In a med. sized pot cook the wild rice in vegetable broth according to the package instructions.

Drizzle olive oil in a skillet on high heat and then add the chopped onion and salt and pepper. Saute until edges are browned. Turn down heat to med high and add the rosemary and cook for a minute or two then add the garlic for just a few seconds. Add in the broth and blackeyed peas that have been drained and salt and pepper again then reduce a bit.
When the wild rice is done pour the blackeyed pea mixture over the rice and mix.

You can add sauteed mushrooms if you like...just slice a handful of mushrooms and saute them in butter till browned in the skillet before you add the onion then follow the recipe as usual.