New Year Beginnings Playful Pantry

New Year Beginnings

otterpond 13 years ago
This morning while sipping my coffee I realized that the New Year is upon us. Okay, okay so I'm a little sheltered and don't watch much TV and maybe I'm getting old or whatevah...

Anyhoo... That put me in mind of the need to make some black-eyed peas which is Lucky Food in the south. There are many many traditional foods meant to bring luck in the New Year. Here is one article by Good HouseKeeping. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/holidays/good-luck-foods

So the game is, share your Good Luck New Year food tradition with us, or pick one you would like to make because the reason for the good luck sings to you.
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pleclare 13 years ago said:

The only food tradition we have here came from my m-i-l who was Norwegian. We have to have herring on New Years because it will bring good luck all year. We usually have it in wine sauce...

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otterpond 13 years ago said:

The origin of the Southern tradition of cooking black-eyed peas for luck on New Years day dates back to the Civil War. Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock, and destroyed whatever they could not carry away. At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and field corn suitable only for animal fodder, and did not steal or destroy these humble foods.

Black-eyed peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring (such as bacon, ham bones, fatback, or hog jowl), diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar. The traditional meal also features collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.[6] Cornbread also often accompanies this meal.

I'll be serving Confetti Black Eyed Pea Salad and Wilders Slow Southern Collard Greens

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otterpond 13 years ago said:

Wow that just brought back a tradtion from my German immigrant grandparents. On New Year's day Grandpop would always serve "Blind Robin" which is smoked salted herring. I think only he and I every ate that tastey treat but I felt lucky to have shared it with my Grandpop.

The reason behind herring being good luck is consuming pickled herring at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve in Germany, Poland and parts of Scandinavia is associated with a bountiful catch.

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pleclare 13 years ago said:

Thanks Laura. Have to admit I don'rt like it. The first year we were together,my f-i-l insisted I have some. As much as I said no,he insisted.My m-i-l took a tiny piece and put it in bread and I made him happy.I loved that man. He died at 56,2 mos. after Phil and I were married. It's his sister that we visit upstate NY.She just turned 94,God bless her...

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