As I sit here with my cup of steaming Earl Grey & my Lemon/Purification essential oils diffusing on a chilly, wintry morning, I'm hoping your holidays were meaningful...that you were able to slow down, connect with loved ones, enjoy & pass down traditions, keep your love on and embrace whatever winds of change might be rustling about. Help us, Jesus. Amen.
I've come to really look forward to New Year's Day for several reasons. Not only for the obvious "clean slate" feeling, but we've made a point to have friends in our home that day. Now, don't get me wrong - I love everything about Christmas, especially the parties. But there's something about a New Year's Day get-together that is casual, carefree & just starts the new year off right.
Maybe because nobody really has any expectations. Everyone is "partied out," so everyone feels free to come as they are & leave their party dress hanging in the closet. Most people have stayed up until midnight (or as long as they can) the night before, so everyone is moving slower. Everyone has holiday food hangover (and maybe other kinds of hangovers), so simple food is appreciated. We've spent extended time with family, maybe even sometimes when it feels like an obligation or when family relations are tense...but today is about choosing whom we want to hang out with. There are no gifts to find, buy, wrap & ship/give. Everyone is still out of school and (usually) off of work, so there's no rush and it kind of feels like we're playing hooky. It's almost like a celebration of making it through all the celebrating.
Now, I'm from Texas, which is technically, geographically the South, but we don't consider ourselves "the South," really. We're just Texas. The South is our Preppy/Fancy/Syrupy Favorite Cousin. However, I digress. A tradition in the South (and in Texas ~ wink) is eating certain foods on New Year's Day. Some may consider this superstitious, but really, it's just an excuse to eat good food & honor our ancestors. Those foods are black-eyed peas, ham and some kind of greens (usually collard greens).
Black-eyed peas are a nod to our Southern ancestors because, as the story goes, when the Union soldiers came through our fields & gardens, they commandeered all the produce for their army, except for the black-eyed peas because they didn't consider them fit for human consumption. Well, shut my mouth! Those black-eyed peas that were left behind kept many Southern folks from starving.
Through the ages, ham has been considered a sign of wealth because in the past especially, only the wealthy could afford to own AND serve pigs at a feast. So, serving some form of pork is saying, "May the new year be prosperous for you." (And if you're thinking, "Well, I grew up poor on a pig farm!"...that still means you grew up wealthier than most in the world. Congratulations.)
Lastly, greens are meant to represent greenbacks, or money. Again, a nod to wishing everyone a prosperous year. Plus, greens are good for your digestive system. Collard greens, for the win!
Eating these foods together is basically a way for Southerners to remember our roots and remind ourselves what we're made of. You know that scene in Gone With The Wind when Scarlet raises her fist towards the heavens and says, "As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again!"? Yeah, that. These foods are part of our story that we tell in our home.
One new thing I tried this year was a Pinterest recipe for New Year Stew. I made it on New Year's Day for family and friends...at one point, there were several people standing around the pot on the stove, scraping the last bits out. I'd say it was a hit. My husband has declared it a new tradition.
Besides the taste, what I love about this stew is that it contains all the traditional aforementioned ingredients in one dish, it could not be easier to make and it's relatively healthy, depending on your thoughts on pork. My thoughts are, "Here, let me lick that bowl for you."
Not the best picture, but the best I could do considering how quickly the pot was emptied.
Below, I'll share my slightly tweaked version:
New Year Stew
1 whole bunch collard greens, washed, stemmed,
and rough chopped
2 whole smoked ham hocks
1 pound cooked ham, diced to about 1/2"
7 cups water
3 cans (15 oz) black-eyed peas, rinsed
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth, low sodium
2 stalks celery, washed and sliced to 1/4"
1 whole medium onion, diced
⅓
cup sweet Marsala wine
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1-2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning
1 teaspoon Black Pepper, Coarse Ground
juice from jarred jalapenos, to taste (because Texas)
Put the water, garlic, Creole seasoning, pepper,
collard greens and ham hocks in a large heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over
medium-high heat and bring just to a boil.
Cover, reduce the heat to medium low and cook one
hour, stirring occasionally.
Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the black-eyed
peas.
Increase the heat to medium-high and bring back to a
simmer.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer covered for
20 minutes.
Uncover, increase the heat to medium, and add the
black-eyed peas.
Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes to allow the
broth to reduce and thicken.
Turn off the heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
I served this with a couple of cast iron skillets' worth of cornbread.
Obviously, you can leave out the jalapeño juice or tweak it any other way your heart desires.
Also, I didn't make one thing new that was sweet. I put our leftover holiday chocolates & sweets out on a plate and called it good. (Although, praises be, our friends brought homemade Key Lime Pie because it's my husband's favorite!) The point is, New Year's Day isn't about fussiness. It's about ease.
And another thing...I have discovered a LOVE for charcuterie! (Just a fancy name for a meat/cheese/bread board. Everyone relax.) I pull my board out and plop any little snacky foods I have on hand. If there is time and I'm able to plan ahead, I might buy special things for the charcuterie board (like a wheel of Brie), but not always. Just nibbles of cheese, fruit, nuts, breads or crackers, deli meats (such as prosciutto). I think of charcuterie as simple, single ingredients that can be eaten alone or customized on each person's plate. It's an uber-relaxed appetizer that looks fancier than it is because it's on a board. This was part of our New Year's Day hospitality.
Those are some of my thoughts in the first week of the new year. [raising my tea mug] Here's to the new year...embracing the journey, starting where we are, practicing hospitality & being open to all the Holy Spirit wants to teach us.
