Ham Ball and Black Eyed Pea Chirashi Rice

Continuing to upcycle a holiday ham, this time into New Year's good luck, while getting folks to eat a wide variety of vegetables as well.

I am not a nutritionist nor much of an advice giver--but in my 8 years of experience with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share and 16 years of experience with, shall we say reluctant vegetable eaters [because if the child won't eat any type of vegetable, well, that's not a picky eater--you have to pick something in order to be picky, you know?] . . . .

This has been such a run on sentence I've lost the point. Let me sum up.

If you have a wide variety of vegetables in your house, you are more likely to include a wide variety of vegetables in your meals. If you include a wide variety of vegetables in your meals, the folks eating your meals will ingest a wide variety of vegetables. Because we joined a CSA, my kids eat a wide variety of vegetables.

It's a bold statement--but if I'd served this recipe to my kids before we joined a CSA, or in the early couple of years, they probably would have picked out the ham balls and the rice and left the rest. Sure, while they've spent the last 8 years eating from the farm share they've also been growing up--that happens--but the unrelenting exposure to a wide variety of vegetables is the foundation of the change. Extrapolating from the end of season survey, we got more than 40 different vegetables over the course of the 20 weeks.  That's a wide variety, and more than I would have bought had it been up to me (ahem, mustard greens, turnips, and beets I'm talking to you!).

This recipe is a great example of how having extra vegetables on hand means I'll add more veggies to our meals. It's also another way to get your New Year's good luck on without extra effort the day after the hoopla. For another New Year's Black Eyed Pea recipe, please see my Black Eyed Pea and Kale Salad in Salumi Cups.

See the veggies in the upper corner? SOUP PACK BOUND!

Ham Ball and Black Eyed Pea Chirashi Rice

2 teaspoons cooking oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup finely chopped celery
1 can (14-15 ounces) black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
Ham balls and leftover sauce (see the recipe here)
4 cups hot cooked rice
3-4 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
½ cup shredded carrot

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and celery in a splash of oil for 5-8 minutes until softened.  Add black eyed peas and ½ cup of the ham ball sauce, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until liquid is coating the beans, another 5-10 minutes.  Set aside.  In a large bowl toss hot rice with vinegar and carrot.  Add the skillet mixture to the rice and toss.  Serve with warmed ham balls.

This post is shared on What's Cookin' Wednesday