If you want to start the New Year off right, you’ve got to cook some black-eyed peas.
Although this legume has been around for centuries, the tradition of eating black-eyed
peas on New Years Day started in the south during the Civil War. Served with “greens”
the peas are supposed to bring you good luck and prosperity and should be the first thing
eaten on New Years Day.
There are a variety of ways to cook black eyed peas. You can make traditional Hoppin'
John, a dish made with black eyed peas, rice, onions and fatback or bacon; although a
healthier way is to substitute smoked turkey for the pork-age. Or you can add your own
mixture of spices with garlic and peppers along with the smoked turkey onions and peas.
However, the one thing you must not do on New Years Day is use canned black-eyed
peas; that would be blasphemous. And don’t forget the cornbread.
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| Greens & Cornbread, a traditional New Year's meal |
