Oklahoma Black-Eyed Peas

• 2 strips bacon
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 to 3 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 10-ounce packages frozen black-eyed peas

1. In a medium-sized pot, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about five minutes.
2. Remove the bacon, crumble it and set aside.
3. Pour off all but about two tablespoons of fat from the pot.
4. Return the pot to medium heat, and toss in the onions, pepper and celery.
5. Brown these in the fat, stirring frequently.
6. Add the crumbled bacon, tomatoes, sugar, bay leaf, basil, salt and pepper and stir.
7. Then add the frozen black-eyed peas.
8. Simmer for one-and-a-half to two hours, or until the beans are soft but not mushy, adding a little water from time to time if the mixture dries out.

bacon, onions, bell pepper, celery, tomatoes, sugar, bay leaf, fresh basil, salt, blackeyed peas

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/2919 (may not work)