The most prosperous New Years Day meal

It’s 2020! The new decade is officially here and in true southern tradition, we are cooking the famous and luckiest meal of the year. Black eyed peas, greens, and cornbread. Rumor has it that if you eat these 3 foods together on the first day of the year, you are guaranteed good luck throughout the year! Today, we are stepping out of our usual health conscious recipes to give you some good ole southern cookin’ that’s good for the soul, and not as good for the arteries.

Black Eyed Peas – This tradition dates back to the Civil War when Union soldiers raided the Confederate’s food supply only leaving black eyed peas, as they thought it was food for the animals. The soldiers thought it was good fortune as they still had food to eat, hence black eyed peas are meant to signify wealth!

• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
• 4 strips of bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• salt to taste

Rinse peas and add to pot. Cover with water. In a separate pan, cook bacon, onion, and garlic. Once cooked, add the pan mixture to the peas. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, until peas are tender, stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes. Sprinkle it with salt to taste.

Collard Greens – It’s all about the benja… greens! They represent money and prosperity.

• 4 strips thick-sliced bacon
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar
• 2 pounds collard greens, stems removed, sliced into 3-inch-wide strips
• 1 cup chicken broth (or water)

Cook bacon and onions in a large pan. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, this takes about a minute. Add the vinegar and bring to a simmer. Then cook until the amount of liquid is reduced by half, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Then, add the collard greens and the chicken broth (or water) and bring to a simmer. Reduce the temp to medium-low. Cook, while stirring occasionally, until the collard greens have wilted and have lost their brightness.

Cornbread – We have now just tripled our luck with adding the final piece of this wealth and prosperity tripod. Cornbread represents gold.

• 1 c yellow cornmeal
• 1 c self-rising flour
• 1 c buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup cooking oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and coat the inside of a 9-inch cast iron skillet. In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal and flour until evenly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and oil. Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir just until everything is moist. Avoid over stirring. It’s okay if there are a few lumps. Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top and edges are golden brown. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.

And the finale… get some butter and go to town on your cornbread!

We hope you all had a wonderful New Year and we wish you abundance, prosperity, good health, and love in 2020!