Barbecue Joint Black-Eyed Peas and K&W Sweet Potato Muffins
Just because we’re cute! Childhood glee. Me & my sis.
This is either my niece’s American Girl Doll or my Mom’s. Mom bought one so that she could make clothes that fit her granddaughters’ dolls properly.
Photos Mom took in London. She took such joy in kids having fun!
Mom was completely charmed by this little girl!
Mom and Dad with my daughter in London, 2012.
Another reason my kid loved visiting her grandparents!
Dad, my niece and sister in Mallorca, taken by Mom.
One of Mom’s Facebook posts. The resemblance between my sister and her daughter is uncanny!
This was a common scene when we would visit our Volberg grandparents! Breakfast in front of cartoons. The Reeds were more formal.
A day late and a dollar short! That is what I am. I meant to get this post out yesterday so that the black-eyed pea recipe might be of some use on New Years, but things caught up with me and it didn’t happen. If you are, for some reason, having a late night supper today then I have the recipe for you! This will pair wonderfully with the greens recipes I shared in an earlier post (here’s the link for those). And, I’m throwing in some comfort muffins from Chapel Hill’s beloved K&W Cafeteria for grins.
I mentioned going through my mom’s Facebook account in a recent post. It really is a sweet, kind of odd, way to commune with a loved one who has passed on. My Mom’s posts (many shared in the photos above) reminded me of what a playful, sweet woman she was. When my daughter and niece were young and into American Girl Dolls, Mom was ALL IN on supporting that craze. She bought them dolls and accessories, but she also got really into making her own clothes for the dolls. Thanks to her, they had hand knit sweaters, gorgeous velvet capes, all sorts of lovely things. Mom even went so far as to buy herself an American Girl doll so she could get the proportions right. She didn’t mess around!
I grew up playing with a beat up Madame Alexander doll that Mom had when she was a girl. Funnily enough, I can’t remember the doll’s name. Somewhere I have a photo of me in junior high, preening on my bedroom window seat. I shared it on social media and my friend, Richard, said something snarky like, “yeah, yeah, we all used to look better 30 years ago. But what’s up with terrifying doll on the bookshelf?!”. It was Mom’s doll. Her hair was patchy and she had definitely seen better days. Well, at some point long after I’d left the house Mom decided to give that doll an overhaul. I’m not sure if it was for her granddaughters or herself, but the doll got new hair, touched up paint, new clothes, and a pair of ice skates. I can vividly remember Mom showing her off to me with a look of satisfaction on her face.
Mom did the same thing with our childhood doll house, which I shared in another post. A few years ago, she freshened the paint and sewed all new bedding. Mom just took care of things, these details mattered to her. Mom was pretty much made to be a grandmother. I mean she was also pretty much made to be a mother, but there is something extra special about the grandmother / granddaughter relationship. You have a similar, close relationship but get to skip the frustrating stuff. Mom called my daughter and niece “her little girls”. She was completely charmed by kids. Mom was always sending me photos of random children she encountered. She would excitedly say, “I saw the cutest little girl in a princess outfit” or “the funniest little girl just couldn’t resist the wading pool at the V&A”. It leaves me to wonder what happened to these kids? I’m sure they have no idea that they brought my mother simple joy.
At some point we started sending my daughter to North Carolina by herself to hang out with Mom and Dad. Luca was pretty young, maybe 9 or 10? She loved it! Grandmomma and Gramps had a golf cart, a bocce ball court, and she had my parents’ undivided attention. Mom would serve her breakfast at the little table in the kitchen, much like I was served breakfast by my grandparents. My grandmother Reed took the whole thing a little over the top, putting the cereal milk in a little crystal pitcher and serving juice in goblets. My Volberg grandmother was more casual in general and would let us eat on a tiny Venetian wood table in front of the TV. I’ve got a photo of my sister above doing that, but it could very easily be me. The one exception is that my sister tolerated raisins and I DID NOT. Mom had a story about coming in to find me there eating cereal with a tiny, neat pile of raisins on the floor next to me. Girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!
I’m wishing you a very happy New Year from 80 degree Austin, Texas. We had to cancel our annual Cheetos, Tito’s & Speedos party again. But, we’ll come back with a bang when we can safely do it. In a minute I’m going across the street to eat black-eyed peas in a neighbor’s yard. Stay safe, y’all! Onward and upward!
[EDIT: I found the photo with Mom’s freaky doll! See below]
BARBECUE JOINT BLACK-EYED PEAS
excerpted from my parents’ book Holy Smoke
Serves 10
The Barbecue Joint is Chapel Hill is a nouvelle barbecue place that we view with mixed feelings on cultural grounds, but there’s no question that they serve some great food. Here’s a rendition of a Southern staple that the owners shared with the News and Observer.
1 tablespoon lard or vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrot
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ pound dried black-eyed peas
1 ham hock
3 cups water
Heat lard or oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Saute 3 to 4 minutes until vegetables are tender and translucent. Add peas, ham hock and water, and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until peas are tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.
K&W CAFETERIA SWEET POTATO MUFFINS
3½ cups cake flour
1½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup shortening
7 egg yolks
¼ cup honey
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 24-cup muffin pan or two 12-cup muffin pans.
Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl on low speed, about 1 minute.
Add shortening and eggs. Mix on low speed 30 seconds.
In a separate container, combine honey, vanilla, and buttermilk.
Add the buttermilk mixture to the mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until smooth.
Add sweet potatoes and mix just until combined.
Dip (or spoon) into muffin pans. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or just until tops spring back when lightly touched.
Makes 24 muffins.
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