Whose Up For Black Eyed Peas??

Sorry, that would NOT be me.  You probably have to be raised in the South to like those famous white and black beans that bring good luck to the New Year.  They never were on our ranch menu.  Oh we ate a lot of beans with all the meat from cattle that died (one day I'll tell you about that), but pinto beans were the cowboy favorite.

We even had a stove just made for cooking them.  The burner would drop down about twelve inches into the stove top, making the pot full of beans even with the top of the stove.  Mom would soak the beans overnight, then cook them on low all day, along with some bacon and onions.  They weren't my favorite, but they were cheap.

Back to the black eyes peas, I've tried them twice.  The second time only because I couldn't see how they could taste that bad!!  Instead, I choose to go with the Mexican tradition of hot tamales for New Years.  I think they bring even more luck because they taste SO much better!!

I did make one tiny mistake however ... instead of going clear across town to the Mexican market, I bought the masa at a different store, which of course means the masa was not the same.  Everyone makes it differently.  I had completely forgotten that little lesson.

My idea was to use the left over chicken, but since that didn't work out so well, I went back to my staple, sweet roasted corn and green chilis.  The masa was much harder to spread, in spite of sitting at room temperature, which of course is about 60 degrees in my house.  The good part is it went on thicker.  I like thicker!!

I also like more filling, so I stuffed them to the brim this time.  That resulted in fewer tamales.  Time for the Instant Pot to come into the picture.  In the old days, tamales had to steam in a pot on the stove for over an hour.  That's one reason very few people make them any more.  Enter the Instant Pot ... 20 minutes and they are done.  Because the masa was so much thicker, I went for 24 minutes.  

Once the first batch was done, I took the tamales out, then lifted the pot out of the machine with special tongs just made for that task.  In an instant, the rubber gripper came loose, leaving metal to metal contact, meaning it slipped out of the grip and hit the floor!!  

My kitchen karma strikes again!!  After cleaning up the mess of tamale water, I discovered the top rim was bent.  RATS!!!  Even with a pair of carefully placed pliers, it wasn't going to move.  Not relishing the thought of steaming the rest of the tamales for an hour on the stove, I put it back together and turned it on, keeping careful watch to see if the lid would seal ... and seal it DID!!!  YAY!!  I'm back in business!

I probably cooked them just a tad too long, or maybe it was the masa.  At any rate, all masa is not created equal.  This batch was very dense and al dente ... kind of like undercooked pasta.  It's hard to explain, but definitely NOT the same flavor, and I'm sure they forgot the salt.  

No matter, I'll eat them on New Years (and every meal until then) because I need all the good luck I can get!!

I have two things on my list for today.  A bath for the rig and fuel for it's stomach.  No one told me how hard it was to keep these beasts clean!!