[sarbar]

I love making up a batch of Hoppin' John at least once a year! May you all have a happy and safe New Years! I made this up early for my family and my In-Laws

Hopping John Ingredients: 2 pieces bacon 2 small onions, chopped 2 large celery stalks, chopped 2 small or 1 very large green bell peppers, seeded and chopped 2 Tbsp fresh Thyme, leaves off of stems 6 cups lower sodium chicken broth 1 16-ounce package frozen black eyed peas or 2 15-ounce cans drained and rinsed Directions: In a large deep saucepan over medium heat cook the bacon till crisp. Take out the bacon and add in the vegetables and thyme. Crumble the bacon and add back in. Cook until the onion is turning golden, about 5 minutes. Add in the broth and black eyed peas. Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Simmer until thickened, about 40 minutes. I leave a lid on the pot partially on to retain some steam. Season to taste with pepper and salt, if you desire. For the rice - this is my take on Alton Brown's Baked Rice: Baked Brown Rice Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups brown rice 2 1/2 cups water Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil Directions: Preheat the oven to 375* Place the rice into an 8-inch square glass or 2 quart baking dish. Bring the water and oil just to a boil in the microwave in a microwave safe glass bowl. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine, and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil or lid. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve immediately. Serve the sauce on top of the rice. Serves 4 to 6, depending on appetite. ~Sarah

[marta]

I just made some yesterday. I made a soup version which was perfect for the cold weather. Don't forget some greens to go with the 'coins' for prosperity. Hoppin John Soup from Kalyn's Kitchen Hubby is vegetarian so I left out the ham and substituted a bit of chipotle chile instead for smokey goodness. BTW, Fred Meyers has frozen black- eyed peas on sale.

[jenjen]

Hoppin John's good stuff. Gotta have the ham hocks and greens in there, though! I prefer mustard or turnip greens, myself. I serve it over rice. Dang, now I'm hungry again!

[Sore Feet]

Hoppin' John is the one thing that my parents used to make when I was young that I would adamantly refuse to eat. I'm fairly certain I remember going to bed without dinner at least once when that was on the menu for the day. Though it definitely wasn't the food I hated most as a kid - my mom used to make Noodles Kugel (no we aren't Jewish) and that stuff actually made me physically gag if I even smelled it.

[sarbar]

Sore Feet - my mom made a few 'wonders' as well Lol! As for the Hoppin' John...there is one serving left and it is mine for breakfast. Yum!

[Scrooge]

This one's a little more trouble than Hoppin' John, but I think it's worth it. I would, since it's my own recipe. .................................................. BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP Note: use one pan for the whole thing. 1 Pork loin chop (about 8 ozs) 4 Tbs Olive oil 1/4 cup Brown sugar Panfry the pork chop about ten minutes in a Tbs of oil over medium-high heat.. Remove from pan and cut in 1/4 inch strips. Add another Tbs of oil to the pan and melt (emulsify) the brown sugar. Saute the pork strips to brown lightly. Remove from pan and cut into bite-size pieces. 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped 1 Green (or Anaheim) pepper, seeded and chopped 2 whole bay leaves 1/2 tsp Thyme Salt and pepper to taste 2 cans Black-eyed peas 4 cups Chicken broth 1/2 cup frozen Collards (or Turnip Greens) 1 Apple, peeled and chopped Add the last 2 Tbs of olive oil to the same pan and saute the onions, garlic,celery, carrot, and green pepper over medium heat till the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper Add the black-eyed peas and chicken broth, cover, and simmer 15 or 20 minutes. Add the frozen greens and apple and simmer another 15 minutes. Return the pork bites to the soup, simmer another 5 minutes, and serve. Additional cooking or reheating will not harm the soup. ................................................ If Larch hadn't already planned Ham bone soup (split pea) for tonight, I'd be stopping at the grocery store for the pork chop and black-eyed peas.

[sarbar]

Cool - that sounds good! Keep 'em coming!

[jenjen]

1 C dried black-eye peas 1 ham hock 1 chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, pressed 1 bunch greens - mustard, turnip, collard, chard... they all work. Tear them into pieces 2 bell peppers, chopped 1 bay leaf thyme and oregano to taste salt & pepper to taste cayenne pepper if you like some heat cooked white rice Rinse and soak black-eye peas overnight. In the morning, drain peas, cover with water, add ham hock and spices, and cook till peas are tender and ham hock meat is tender. (2 hours? 3 hours? It's a slow food thing...) Remove ham hock and set aside to cool, add 2 cloves of garlic, and bell peppers. Pull the meat off of the ham hock. When the peppers are tender, add the greens, the meat, and the last clove of garlic. The Hoppin John is ready when the greens are wilted and everything's heated through. Serve over rice. This is actually better the day after it's cooked. *measurements are approximate. I rarely measure things when I cook. Feel free to improvise.

[Hikes with dogs]

It's supposed to bring good luck in the New Year....I like to add the Cayenne Pepper and I also add a small can of tomato sauce.

[tmatlack]

Sar et al, There is a recipe for a beer-based hoppin' john in this morning's PI. Tom

[sarbar]

[Hiker Mama]

Cool, I made a similar soup yesterday, too. I modified it according to what I had on hand, and had fresh salad instead of greens in the soup. Yummy. We'll probably have it again tonight. Happy New Year!