Just Another Writer

Start your New Year out right with some good luck, or at least a healthy diet. One diet I haven’t tried yet is the Good Luck Black-Eyed Pea Plan, but you might want to. At any rate, here in the South we believe that eating black eyed peas on New Years is a sign of good luck. Apparently, the black-eyed peas represent coins, and the greens we eat with them represent the other kind of currency. Hoppin’ John is a popular dish to eat this time of year–here is a recipe.

* 2 cups dried black eyed peas
* 6 cups water
* 3/4 cup onion — chopped
* 1/4 cup celery — chopped
* 2 pounds ham hocks
* 1 cup brown rice — uncooked
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Soak peas in the 6 cups of water overnight or boil for one minute and let sit for an hour.

Transfer soaked peas and soaking liquid to a large pot and add onions, celery, and ham hocks. Cover and cook over medium heat until peas are tender but still whole, about 45 minutes. Add rice and pepper, cover, and simmer for about 1 hour, or until rice is tender.

Remove meat from ham hocks and discard bones and fat. Mix meat into peas and rice. Serve hot.

What you need to do to win is to simply link to my contest, and then come back here and leave a comment letting me know.

Photo by loumcf

The winner will receive a 12 pack of Eden organic black-eyed peas and, if in the US, cornbread baked by yours truly. If you live in the South, you know that you never eat black-eyed peas without cornbread. It just ain’t right.

If you would prefer to pass on the black-eyed peas and cornbread (or if you live outside the US), you may opt for a $25 gift certificate.

The contest ends at 12:00 PM Central on January 15, 2008, so you can pump up your yearly good luck before the end of the month!

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