Every culture has its “lucky food” to be eaten on the first day of each new year. Most of the sites I checked talk about the symbolism of money. For instance, greens would represent folding dollar bills, and peas would symbolize coins. My theory is somewhat different. I believe the lucky food will be something that is common to the culture, inexpensive, traditional, healthy, and a “comfort food.”
Anyone who has ever lived in the Deep South, or if you know someone who has, then you know that a pot of black-eyed peas is a “must” on New Year’s Day for good luck. Occasionally, people eat “Hoppin’ John,” which is spiced up and served over rice. That’s a wonderful dish, too, but regular black-eyed peas is really all it takes to be lucky in the new year.
There is no recipe for this, other than to take black-eyed peas, either fresh (haven’t seen those in Hawaii), frozen (a little easier to find), or dried (which is what I did this year), and cook them up with whatever kind of pork you have on hand. Occasionally, I’ve cut up some kale or chard from my garden to add later.
The pork can be bacon, leftover ham, ham hock, or what in the South, we called “sow belly.” I had half a rasher of bacon and some sow belly. I soaked the peas overnight, drained them the next morning and added more water for simmering.
There are other ways to do this. For example, you can do it in a slow cooker, or bring to a boil then let sit for a couple hours. Everyone has their favorite way of doing it. For me, it all depends on my mood and how much time I want to take. The slower you cook them, the better they taste. I add chopped onion, and either salsa or hot sauce of some sort.
I tried to get a close-up of the peas in the pot, but the steam kept fogging up the camera lens, so this is the clearest I was able to get.
Along with corn bread and a hot pepper sauce that my brother sent me from Florida, I served them to a friend who came to supper. Enough peas were eaten by both of us to keep us going all year. (That’s not intended as a joke!)
Hau`oli Makahiki Hou!
(Happy New Year!)
Having lived in Georgia, North and South Carolina for many years, and my mother having been a G.R.I.T.S. (Girl Raised In The South) I was raised eating Hoppin’ John for New Year’s Day, so to this day, that is how I make my New Year’s blackeyed peas.
I love blackeyed peas no matter how they’re prepared (the Cuban style ‘bollitos de frijoles caritas’ are also great little fritters), but New Year’s Day means Hoppin’ John in our household!
I’d love your recipe for bollitos de frijoles caritas! Wow! A Cuban who knows about “Hoppin’ John!” I would have never known! LOL
Aloha,
Lucy
As I said….my mom was a G.R.I.T.S.! LOL
Will e-mail you the recipe for the blackeyed peas fritters
Speaking of “grits,” do you love those, too? I sure do, especially if they have some cheese grated into them. Oh my! My dad was from Mississippi, my mother was a Yankee! 🙂 But I moved South, and continued his tradition.
Looking forward to the fritters!
Aloha,
Lucy
I love grits! I make a mean grits cheese & garlic casserole and one of my favorite grits dishes of all times is Shrimp & Grits!
Funny, all four of us siblings like grits. We were all born in Cuba. Our Atlanta, Georgia Peach of a mom did not care for grits at all!
That really is funny! I’m surprised she gave you a chance to like them, if she didn’t. I’m a grits fan, myself, with a Daddy from the Deep South in Mississippi!
When do you think you’ll get around to the bottom of the island?
Aloha,
Lucy
😉 I know. None of us can understand it!
Not sure yet when we will be down your way, but hopefully soon and I will e-mail you….
BTW, I’m working on an island wide list of farmers’ markets, whether sponsored by the Big Island Farm Bureau or not….are there any down your way?
You might want to check out my post back in July 2008 http://lavalily.com/2008/07/the-southernmost-market-in-the-usa/ about the one at Na`alehu. Also, I haven’t written about it, but there is one here in Ocean View that I haven’t gone to, since I usually travel over to Na`alehu, or pick from my own garden.
OK, thanks…I got some info from your article and visited the Na’alehu Main St web site. Would love to learn something about the one in Ocean View when/if you do visit.
Mahalo!