Beans are a pantry staple in my house. Economical and a good source of protein, it makes sense to keep them around in canned and dried form. Canned beans in particular are good in an emergency when the pantry is bare and people are hungry. Heated with a few seasonings one can serve them atop rice, throw them into a salad, or blend them into a quick dip. Canned beans compared to dried beans are a time-saver, but they are also more expensive and often contain a high amount of sodium. I justify the higher price based upon convenience and I cut the sodium by always rinsing canned beans under water before serving. This simple step can reduce the sodium count by up to 50% and makes me feel better about taking the shortcut.
While my cupboard has always contained both dried and canned beans, until recently I only kept black-eyed peas in dried form. I grew up eating black-eyed peas once a year on New Year’s day. Paired with braised collard beans, I doused the black-eyed peas (served in the dish known as hoppin john) with hot pepper vinegar and superstitiously ate everything in order to bring wealth in the new year. The collards symbolized greenbacks while the black-eyed peas were eaten to fill your pockets with coins. Dried black-eyed peas and collards cooked for hours before serving and while leftovers might fill the fridge for a day or two more, black-eyed peas wouldn’t grace my table again for another year. And then I learned about Southern (or Mississippi) caviar and added canned black-eyed peas to my shelves.
