I cheated.

I totally cheated.

I didn’t use black-eyed peas that had soaked overnight and then boiled for an hour.

Nope, I just grabbed my can opener and a few seconds later we were good to go. It is justified to cheat where you can if your ass is harried.

Moral of the story? Don’t discriminate against canned beans. Canned beans and home cooked beans are the same on the inside. And that’s what fucking matters: the insides. But if the insides aren’t tender, then throw those fuckers back in the pot. I’m not a beanist, but I ain’t no fool either. We all know that beans can be liars. They’ll decieve your ass if you give ’em half a chance.

So anyway. This meal is the real deal. Smoky black-eyed peas with roasted sweet potatoes and collards. It’s healthy, it’ll fill you up, and it’s like a party in your mouth. The kind you need to gatecrash with drinks. Because it’s got a nice warm tingle from the spices, so you might wanna wash this bad boy down with a beer or two.

The challenge is to cook all 115 recipes from the Thug Kitchen cookbook within 365 days, and we are 61 recipes down, with 54 to go.

I sautéed the shit outta the onions while the sweet potatoes were doing their thang in the oven, and by adding all the yummy spices in all the right places the house’s value shot in the air. A smartass real estate agent who shoves some cookie dough in the oven to make the property smell nice ain’t got nothing on these smoky peas. These bastards will sell your house. Every. Goddamn. Time.

You don’t believe me? Test that shit. I dare you. Rock up to random house viewings with some of this grub in a Tupperware and I bet you make new friends as potentials buyers flock to the stove to see what’s cooking.

The end result after a small amount of time spent in the kitchen (especially if you cheat and use canned beans) is this amazing well-rounded meal. I bet you get even more depth of flavour if you use beans that need cooking for longer because they have longer to marinate in the tantalising, smoky, saucy, goodness.

Something about the sweet, almost caramel like flavour of the sweet potato contrasts yet goes so well with the smoky flavour of the beans. And the collards are just a kick ass guest to this mouth party. Talk about Umami.