Yeah, I know it’s a bit late. However, I wanted to share a quaint tradition for New Years Day the Ms Cocktail and I have taken part in for over 20 years. It all started back when we were living in Willimantic, CT and newly married. 
At that time, Ms Cocktail was very much the vegetarian so most of our cookbooks (read: her cookbooks. At this point in time sandwiches were a major culinary effort for me, as often as not causing me to head to the local Subway shop) were of the vegetarian variety.
We currently still have these cookbooks, and the ones that tended to get the most use were a series of cookbooks put out by the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY. This is a reasonably well known vegetarian restaurant in a decidedly college town, a perfect match. Very often with their recipes, there are little anecdotes or other bits of information tucked into the preamble, kinda, sorta like what I do but in a much more brief way.
Anyway, in one of their books they had this recipe for something called Hoppin’ John. The story that goes with this meal is that in the South, Hoppin’ John and Collard Greens are eaten on New Year’s Day because they are supposed to bring financial good fortune during the year. The black eyed peas symbolize coins and the collards symbolize paper money. Being not necessarily rich (not that we are now but we’re better off than when we first started out) we figured that it certainly couldn’t hurt. And so, we became part of that ongoing tradition of having Hoppin’ John and Collards for New Years.
Hoppin’ John
Black Eyed Peas
4 cups fresh black eyed peas
3 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs butter
1 1/2 Tbs Tamari (you may substitute soy sauce but tamari has a lighter flavor)
pinch of ground allspice
pinch of cayenne
Garnish
1 large ripe tomato diced
1/2 cup chopped scallions
chopped fresh parsley
grated smoked cheddar cheese
3 cups cooked rice
Cook the black eyed peas in the water and salt for about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Sauté the onions and garlic in the butter until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the allspice, cayenne and Tamari. Stir this mixture into the peas with enough of the reserved liquid to make it juicy and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
To server, place a generous portion of the rice on the plate. Cover with the black eyed peas then top with the cheese, scallions, tomatoes and parsley.
Collard Greens
1 bunch collard greens
2 cups water
2 oz salt pork
1/2 cup cider vinegar
red pepper flakes
Clean and remove the stems from the collard greens. Place in a large pot and add the water and salt pork and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover, simmering for 30 minutes. Remove the salt pork and drain the water. Add the cider vinegar and red pepper flakes to taste. Serve warm.
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