To Health and Wealth!

In the South, we celebrate New Year's Day with black-eyed peas (to ensure health in the new year) and cabbage (for prosperity). My Granny always fixes a big dinner of the traditional foods, but she also makes hog jowl (some nasty pork product that looks like really fat bacon). I used to dine with my family on New Year's Day, but for the past several years, I've stayed at home and made my own traditional foods.

Today, I took the opportunity to develop a new recipe for my cookbook. It may not be that pretty, but here's my Hoppin' John Veggie Sausage Bowl:

Instead of serving cabbage on the side (as is customary), I boiled the cabbage with my black-eyed peas and tomatoes. I also threw in some veggie sausage chunks for added flavor. Served over brown rice, this one-pot dish was wholesome and yummy. And hopefully, I'll stay healthy and get wealthy (fingers crossed) in 2009.

Some Hoppin John trivia: According to , Wikipedia leftover Hoppin' John eaten the day after New Year's Day is called Skippin' Jenny. So I'll be having Skippin' Jenny for tomorrow's lunch.