Tasha Does Tulsa.

You know what they say, don’t you? That you’re supposed to do everything you can to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day. It’s supposed to bring good luck and good fortune in the coming year.

I wouldn’t know if this is true or not, mostly because I’ve eaten my grandmother’s black eye peas each and every year since I traded Enfamil for solid food.

Except for maybe the year I fell on my face on this playground in Missouri, broke my nose and bled all the way back to Tulsa. That was a bad year.

Good thing for Missouri that it has a great craft beer scene. Otherwise I don’t think I’d be inclined to visit anymore.

Make this year a lucky, face plant-free year. Make a pot of these Okie-tastic black-eyed peas, the recipe for which was floated to me from the nice folks over at the Made in Oklahoma Coalition.

Between these and a rub of the jagged bridge of my nose that resulted from that fateful fall on a Missourian playground (no, really, if you see me around town, feel free to ask to touch my nose – it’ll give you the gross-out shivers), you’ll have good luck that’s sure to last you until Jan. 1, 2011.

Bacon and Black Eyed Pea Soup

• 1 lb. JC Potter Hickory Smoked Bacon, diced
• 1 C chopped celery
• 1 C chopped onion
• 1 C chopped green pepper
• 2 cans (16 oz. each) black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 2 C low-sodium beef broth
• 1 can (14 ½ oz.) stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (14 ½ oz.) crushed tomatoes
• 1 t Worcestershire sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp; using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and set aside. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings from pan; sauté celery, onion and green pepper until tender. Add all remaining ingredients, including bacon; heat through. Enjoy!

Serve with Shawnee Mills cornbread for a country soup feast. Yum, yum.

Image from Wikipedia