new year's day

It's possible to start the new year without a meal of collard greens, cornbread, and hoppin' john, but I don't recommend it. According to Southern tradition, eating greens and hoppin' john on new year's day will ensure good luck and prosperity throughout the year. The cornbread it rounds out the meal but does not bring luck (although some folks say it represents gold, that's just silly). You can theoretically serve sort of greens. Collards are a good complement tohoppin'-john and are the only fresh greens you are likely to find this time of year other than kale, and .

Hoppin' john can be very simple: the world's easist hoppin' john recipe calls for nothing but canned black-eyed peas and some leftover rice. Rumor has it that canned black-eyed peas contain some unpleasant chemical, so it is better to get frozen or dried beans.

Hoppin' john traditionally has some part of the big in it, whether hog jowl, bacon, or ham hocks. Our recipe does without.
swineless hoppin' john

Ingredients:

• 2 c. frozen or dried black-eyed peas, cooked according to package directions (this can take a long time, so make sure you allow enough time)
  
• 1 c. uncooked rice
• 1 Tb olive oil
  
• 1 small onion, chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• salt and pepper
• 2 c. vegetable broth
• 1/4 c. crushed red pepper

Process:

1. Sautee the onion in the olive oil about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic to the onion and sautee another 1 minute
3. Add the rice and the 2 cups broth to the onion and garlic.
   
4. Bring to a boil and boil until rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.
5. Mix the rice and beans together.
   

I like to eat hoppin' john with jamaican hot sauce (similar to Tobasco and a fraction of the price).

I've heard of cooking the rice and beans together in one pot but never tried that because I worry that one might be ready before the other. Also, I usually make extra rice to use in other dishes.

read full post ...