Welcome to the final post of 2019. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that it’ll be 2020 in a few hours. I remember as a kid 2020 was “the future”. We’d be living on the moon and driving flying cars by 2020. Isn’t it interesting how we haven’t done many futuristic things as of yet. Yes our phones are more powerful than the computers that sent men to the moon and medicine has advanced in some major ways. But we still burn fossil fuels to stay warm and to power our cars. We still cook our food, wash our clothes and mow our lawns and many other things, basically the same way we’ve been doing them for almost 100 years. Do you ever wonder about the reasons why? Ya me neither!
Today’s post is about the New Year, a fresh start, a time to reflect and for some a time to plan and make resolutions. If you’ve ever had one resolution that you’ve stuck with for an entire year or until it was accomplished please leave it in the comment box below because frankly, I’ve given up on making resolutions and now just try to do my best in all areas of my life.Theres much less stress and disappointment that way! Around the world the New Year is ushered in with many customs, most having to do with bringing good luck and fortune into the home for the coming year. In Greece an onion is hung outside the front door as a symbol of rebirth for the coming year and in the morning parents wake their kids up by tapping them on the head with the onion. Some Germans eat a special donut called Pfannkuchens, filled with jam or liquor. In Ireland banging bread against the walls is done to get rid of evil spirits. Here in America especially in the south you can bet almost every household will be eating black eyed peas for good luck. I’ve eaten them every New Years day for as long as I can remember. You can make them from scratch or from a can and use them in a stew, like Hopin’ John Stew. However you eat them it’s best to eat them with cornbread, in my humble opinion. You can see my cornbread recipe here. Below you’ll find a recipe for Black Eyed Pea stew and in the interest of time I’m going to use canned peas. (usually Black Eyed Peas don’t need to be soaked as long as you cook them in the recipe till tender, but I soak them anyway.)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or lard (authentic)
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3-4 cloves of garlic diced
- 1 1/2 pounds ham, chopped (smoked ham hocks, authentic, but not easy to find everywhere) You can also use a spicy sausage if you’d like.
- 1 quart of chicken stock
- 1 can of crushed or diced tomatoes 14.5 ounces
- 2 cans Black Eyed Peas, 15.5 ounces each
- 3 cups or more of water
- salt and pepper to taste
- Heat the pot over medium heat add the oil to the hot pot. Place onions and garlic in the pot with hot oil and sauté till soft. Add the ham and cook for five minutes. Add the cans of tomatoes and Black Eyed peas and stir everything together. Add the water and broth and bring everything to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer, add salt and pepper to taste and continue to simmer stirring occasionally for 2 hours. Be sure not to let the stew get to thick, add more broth or water if this happens. Enjoy with corn bread and feel the good luck coming to you and yours!
That wraps up the final post for 2019. As always please leave your questions or comments in the box below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. May the coming year bring you abundant health and happiness , and may you share memorable times with good friends and of course, eating great food. Until next year…Boone Appétit!
