Black-Eyed Peas

Tradition says that eating black-eyed peas to ring in the new year will bring prosperity and good luck. Every year for Christmas Eve dinner, we buy a ham. This year we chose to start a new family tradition by cooking the leftover ham bone in a pot of black-eyed peas for our New Year's Day family dinner. It was accompanied by homemade brown bread, butter and strawberry jam.

The perfect start to a year of simplicity, thrift and bounty.

Beans and Ham
Soak dried beans overnight in enough water to completely cover, adding more water as necessary during the soaking process. (Allow 1/4 cup of dried beans per person.) After 10-12 hours of soaking, drain and rinse the beans. Place the ham bone and beans in a large pot and cover the beans with water. The ham bone does not need to be submerged. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and then turn the stove down to a simmer. Cook for several hours over lowest heat until the beans are soft.


Brown Bread
3 t dried yeast
1 T honey
1 C hot water
1/4 C whole wheat flour (plus 1 3/4 C)
Gently mix these first four ingredients. Let the mixture settle in a warm spot on the counter top until small bubbles appear on the surface. Then add enough whole wheat flour to make a soft dough (approximately 1 3/4 cups on an arid day). Knead well and let the dough rise. Form into a single loaf and let rise a second time. Once the bread dough has reached the top of the bread pan, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top crust is brown and sounds hollow when thumped.