Blackeyed Peas for New Year's Day

Eating collards for prosperity and black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Day is a southern tradition, but Dan dislikes collards and I'm not too fond of them.  I like black-eyed peas but Dan not so much, so this year I tried a new recipe that included black-eyed peas ---Hoppin' John Soup. 

Hoppin' John Soup
2 links of chicken sausage
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup basmati and wild rice
2 cups of cooked black-eyed peas (I used fresh ones since they were available at the grocery.)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
Black pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste

Directions:

1.  Slice the sausage links and brown in olive oil.  Add onions and garlic and cook until onion is translucent.

2.  In a large pot mix the sausage, onions, garlic, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, mushrooms and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add rice.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until rice is done---about 20 minutes.  Add more broth if needed for preferred consistency.  Season to taste with pepper and chili powder. 

Brown sausage, onions and garlic.

Cook the peas.

Add all ingredients in large pot.

Ready to eat.

We skipped the collards (so much for prosperity) but maybe the peas will bring us good luck in 2013.  It was a good soup in any case.

"The Holy Grail of Collards"

George's yellow-cabbage collards.

The Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market opened Wednesday at the City Plaza on Fayetteville Street, and yellow-cabbage collards were available for tasting and for purchase.  Bob Garner, a Southern food expert, explained that this variety of collards is more tender and sweeter than the ordinary green collards.  He described them as "the holy grail of collards".

George Wooten (left) and Bob Garner describing the collards.

This variety of collards is not grown by commercial farms, but by farmers in the Edgecombe County area of North Carolina.  The Pit, a restaurant in downtown Raleigh, includes these in their menu, and there were samples available from George Wooten at the Market.  I tried them, and they are delicious.  George also had some for sale, and I brought some home to cook.  I thought even Dan, who is not a fan of collards, might like these.

Collards cooking with a ham hock according to George's instructions.

So I cooked these last night. We had a real southern meal---collards and cornbread, and I even had some buttermilk.  I think maybe Dan does like these collards better than the dark green ones.

A real southern meal: collards, cornbread, 'maters, and buttermilk. 

 Why don't you go down to the City Plaza in Raleigh some Wednesday and get some of George's special collards?  I think you will like them.