Submitted by: agcomm,  Thu Dec 18 12:35:24 1997


Prairie Fare: Cook up Some Good Luck for the New Year
 
Graphic accompanies this column in hard copy and is available on
the World Wide Web at
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/newsrelease/graphics/
 
     Forget all those lucky charms that you've either got to rub
or wear around your neck. I'm here to tell you that you can eat
your way to good fortune. Of course, you've got to believe in a
bit of Southern folklore, but so what? The food's good and the
legend is rich. 
     Many Southerners believe that eating a combination of rice
and beans or vegetables on New Year's Day will bring good luck.
Or is it wealth? Or long life? As much disagreement as there
appears to be about what type of magic eating this savory dish
will produce, there seems to be equal differences of opinion
about what the dish should actually include. I've seen recipes
for Hopping John, which includes black-eyed peas, rice and either
ham, bacon or sausage. Some call for mustard greens and/or
collard greens too. There are recipes for Limping Susan, with
okra, rice and shrimp. And while recipe-surfing on the Internet,
I even came across mention of the Cuban Classic, featuring black
beans and rice. 
     One source says that recipes for Hopping John probably date
back to the Civil War. It seems the hard-pressed Confederate
soldiers ate a lot of black-eyed peas. The legend has grown from
there until many believe the "traditional" dish definitely should
include black- eyed peas, rice and some type of pork. 
     The luck or wealth or health produced by this New Year's Day
delight is supposedly drawn from its ingredients, which are
supposed to be items that cooks have readily on hand, like the
black-eyed peas. I've read tales of how the black-eyed peas
represent coins and the collard greens signify folding money. All
I really know is that I've eaten Hopping John on New Year's Day
(before noon like my recipe instructs) and I haven't died. I'm
still waiting to win the lottery. I'm middle-aged, and I'm not
planning on retiring anytime soon. Go figure. 
     Anyway, here's a recipe I developed that's a combination of
about four or five I've read in cookbooks and on the Internet.
The spinach probably makes it more of a Yankee-style Hopping
John, so just to make sure its magical powers aren't diminished,
I'd recommend eating it with some cornbread. A creamy coleslaw
and some cucumbers and onions in a vinegar dressing would make
nice accompaniments.  
     Hopping John
     Yield: 6 to 8 servings
     Ingredients:
     2 cups dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and drained 4
          thick slices bacon, whole
     8 cups chicken broth
     1 onion, chopped
      cup chopped celery (about 2 ribs)
      teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
     salt, freshly ground black pepper and hot pepper sauce to
          taste 1 cup uncooked white rice
     1 10-ounce package chopped spinach, squeezed
     3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
     Procedure:
     Put peas, uncooked bacon and chicken broth into Dutch oven.
Bring to a boil for 10 minutes, reduce heat, and add onion,
celery and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer until peas are
tender, from 45 minutes to an hour. Discard bacon slices. Season
with salt, black pepper and red pepper sauce, add rice and cook
until tender, about 20 minutes. Add more broth to mixture as rice
is cooking, if needed. When rice is nearly done, add spinach and
adjust seasonings. Serve in individual bowls. Top with crumbled
bacon. 
     What's Your Take on This, Julie?  
     Why not start out the new year with an unusually named
recipe that's also tasty and healthy? According to my reference,
the recipe was either named after the energetic waiter who
originally served the dish or after a child who danced around the
table when the dinner was served. 
     Most cooking doesn't evoke that level of enthusiasm, but for
the nutrition-conscious New Year's dieter, this recipe might.
This hearty main dish provides about 400 calories and only 5
grams of fat per serving. It also provides fiber, B vitamins and
some calcium from the peas. A serving provides nearly 60 percent
of the recommended amount of vitamin A as beta carotene from the
spinach. If you want to reduce the fat content even further, you
could cook and drain the bacon before adding it to the boiling
peas.
     Dried peas, a nutritious but often overlooked recipe
ingredient, are a main ingredient of this rendition of Hopping
John. Dried peas, and dried beans for that matter, are
high-energy foods with ample protein, carbohydrates and fiber,
and negligible fat. They can be cooked into comforting soups
perfect for cold winter days. 
     Whatever your New Year's resolutions, remember the role that
nutrition plays in long- term health. Actually, fox-trotting
around a table graced by a pot of Hopping John might be a good
way to get us all back on the fitness track for the new year. And
by the way, have a good one!
                              ###
NDSU Agriculture Communication
Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187