Food, Health & Fitness
Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, January 2, 1997 25
Alcohol Alternatives: Celebrate
the Holidays with these fun
Drinks
Toasting the holidays or ringing in the New
Year doesn't have to mean drinking alcoholic
beverages.
Eating black-eyed peas before noon brings luck on New Year's Day
by Mary Ann McNeiU
Gazette Staff
THE SOUTH--No region in America has more pic-
turesque names for their foods than the South, and many
of them are even baffling to Southerners. To help those
interested in learning where these names and concoc-
tions came from, Rosa Tusa, a food editor and
photographer, and Sam C. Rawls, a cartoonist,
wrote a funny little paperback book almost
thirty years ago called, "True Grits: Every-
thing you want to know about Southern cook-
ing from beaten biscuits to pot likker."
They reveal the legend of black-eyed peas
and New Year's Day luck with the following:
Hopping John is a dish from Civil War
days, still popular today. After the war, South-
erners found their livestock and barnyard poul-
try had either been taken over by the troops or
let loose to wander away. Crops and gardens
had been raided or trampled. Crops were
needed that could be planted cheaply and
provide nourishing food in a short time. Peas
and,beans became staples.
Hopping John is made with dried black-
eyed peas--also known as cornfield, cow or
field peas. After meat was less scarce, ham
hocks or other parts of the hog were added to
the dish. Black-eyed peas (preferably with
hog jowl) must be eated before noon on New
Year's Day to insure good luck for the coming
year. The legend told is that a farmer, pursued
by bad luck and poor health, with no food on
New Year's Day, set out with his hunting dog
i
Hopping John 1868
1 pound dried black-eyed pea
1/2 pound salt pork or bacon, sliced
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons bacon fat or lard
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
Cover peas with 3 pints cold water in large kettle. Soak
overnight. Add salt pork, Tabasco and salt. Cover and cook over
low heat about 30 minutes. Cook onions in bacon fat until yellow
and add to peas with rice and 1-1/2 cups boiling water. Cook until
rice is tender and water absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring
from time to time. Makes 8 cups.
for some game. Instead of rabbit, the dog returned
carrying a basket of hocks, jowls and black-eyed peas.
The combination was cooked into a hearty meal. Next
morning the farmer's health improved and he produced a
record crop of sweet potatoes that year.
i
Here is the version of Hoppin' John given in the best-selling 1986
cookbook,"White Trash Cooking," by Ernest Matthew Mickler:
Hoppin ' John
1 cup raw cowpeas
4 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup raw rice
4 slices bacon fried with | medium onion, chopped
Boil peas in salted water until tender. Add peas and lcup of
the pea liquid to rice, bacon (with grease) and onion. Put in rice
steamer or double-boiler and cook for I hour or until rice is
thoroughly done.
Black-eyed peas or canned peas will work also if they're
already cooked.
ii
Bake a honey of a bread
As the holidays approach, the pace of life seems to beat a darker-colored honey, such as avocado or wild-
flower, into softened butter.
No matter how you slice it, Honey-Cranberry Oat
Bread is sure to be a hit with the holiday crowd. For
additional recipes for busy cooks, send a self-addressed,
stamped business-size envelope to National Honey Board,
"Squeezed foi" Time, Honey?," Dept. HCOB, 390 Lashley
Street, Longmont, CO 80501-6045: .
Honey-Cranberry •
Oat Bread
3/4 cup honey :::
21/3 eggsCUp vegetable oil : i ';
112 cup milk
2-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking rolled Oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder ii
112 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups flesh or frozen cranberrfes
1 cup chopped nuts '
Combine honey, oil, eggs and milk in large wl; mix
well. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, bakipipowder,
salt and cinnamon in medium bowl; mix welt.!Stir into
honey mixture. Fold in cranberries and nuts, $n into
two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2-inch greased and floured loaf
pans. '
Bake in preheated 350"F oven 40 to 45 minutes or until
wooden toothpick inserted near center comes'out clean.
Cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans;
cool completely on wire racks. '
Makes 2 loaves.
to your an-
family fa-
Made with
zen cran-
sweetened
honey, it's
make as it is
Try it sliced
topped with
whipped
cream
specta
quicken. There's shopping to do, parties to plan, family
and friends to visit and, of course, holiday treats to make.
Since few people have time for elaborate baking, festive
quick breads are the answer. Holiday quick breads use
basic ingredients, are easy to prepare and satisfy that
craving for fresh, homemade comfort food.
One taste and you'll add Honey-Cranberry Oat Bread
nual list of
vorites.
fresh or fro-
berries and
with golden
as quick to
delicious.
and toasted,
honey-
butter or
cheese for a
family
also makes
a great por- table snack
for cold- weather fun
or a thoughtful hostess gift.
It's easy to add the delicious flavor ofh0ney to all your
holiday recipes. Since honey has a higher fructose con-
tent than sugar, start by substituting honey for half the
sweetener called for in a recipe, then adjust to taste. And
remember, honey ranges from light to dark, with its
flavor ranging from mild to robust, depending on the
floral source of the variety you choose. Have fun and
experiment using different honey varieties. Try a lighter-
colored honey, such as clover or orange blossom, for
Honey-Cranberry Oat Bread. For a distinctive topping,
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