Cooking

Feeling lucky in the New Year

Sonya Verlaque

Black Eyed Peas

Black eyed peas have a long history in southern cooking for ringing in the new year. Rumor is you are supposed to eat 365 of them for wealth every day in the new year, and when cooking, they are presoaked and swell so hopefully your money grows as well. Black eyed peas are also high in protein and flavonoids so may contribute to your good health in 2025 also. Always remember to soak your beans, preferably overnight if you can, and add salt if needed near the end (the bacon and sausage can be salty enough). Also almost every recipe you find will have jalapeZos in it, they can be optional depending on your family and friends spice tolerance.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound black-eyed peas (453g)
• 4-5 slices chopped thick bacon
• 5 ounces diced smoked sausage or turkey (about 1 cup)
• 1 large diced onion
• 1 diced celery stalk
• 2 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 optional minced jalapeZo (or substitute with 1/4 teaspoon cayenne)
• 2 tsp. fresh minced thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 to 2 tsp. creole spice mix
• 7 to 8 cups chicken stock
• 2 or more cups of collard greens (or substitute with kale)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation Directions: Start by rinsing the dry black-eyed pea beans thoroughly and pick through them. Place the beans into a large pot and cover them with 3-4 inches of cold water. Let the beans sit and soak for 2-3 hours, or if time permits, overnight for optimal texture. In a large, heavy sauté pan, cook chopped bacon over medium heat until it becomes brown and crispy, which should take about 4-5 minutes. Add sausage to the pan and continue to sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes. Once cooked, remove the bacon and sausage mixture from the pan and set it aside for later use.

Using the same pan, add chopped onions, celery, garlic, jalapenos, thyme, and a bay leaf. Sauté the mixture for 3-5 minutes until the onions become wilted and aromatic, then pour in chicken broth or water to deglaze the pan and incorporate flavors. Drain the soaked beans, rinse them thoroughly, and add them to the pot with the sautéed vegetables. Season the mixture generously with Creole seasoning and salt to taste. Stir everything together and bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for approximately 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add collard greens along with the set-aside bacon and sausage mixture back into the pot and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. This allows the beans to become tender and for the broth to thicken to your desired texture. Add additional stock or water if the mixture becomes too dry or thick. The resulting texture should be thick and somewhat creamy, not soupy. Remove the bay leaf, and taste the dish and adjust the seasonings as needed with additional salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. Serve the dish over cooked rice and garnish with chopped green onions or cornbread.

Pear and Pomegranate Spinach Salad with Maple-Lemon Mustard Dressing

Pomegranates are an auspicious symbol in many cultures. The story of Persephone tells us that she was bound to the underworld because she ate a few pomegranate seeds and humans then experienced winter, which was cold and barren. But when she returned to the mortal world, spring followed and the pomegranate was associated with fertility, luck and abundance. And really, I’m ready to try anything to advance spring.

Ingredients Salad dressing:

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbs. Dijon mustard
• 3 tbs. maple syrup or honey
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salad ingredients:

• 1 cup pecan halves toasted
• ½ cup pomegranate arils
• a cup dried cranberries
• 1 large pear
• 5 oz baby spinach
• a cup goat cheese crumbled

Preparation Directions: Make the Salad Dressing. Combine olive oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and freshly squeezed lemon juice in a mason jar. Whisk with a fork for 1-2 minutes until smooth and emulsified. Toast the pecans in a preheated oven at 350EF for about 10 minutes, just until they turn a bit darker. Remove the red arils from a whole pomegranate by slicing it in half and using your hands to carefully detach the arils from the pith, discarding the peel and membranes. Soak dried cranberries in hot water for a few minutes to make them soft and juicy. Thinly slice pears just before serving to keep them fresh. In a large bowl, put your spinach in and mix with dressing to coat well. Then top with sliced pears, pecans, cranberries, pomegranate, and goat cheese to serve.

Irish Soda Bread

I follow a Korean culinary team (crazy Korean cooking) faithfully because their parents are so adorable in their reactions to trying food. Their genuine delight and enthusiasm with what is made for them is so endearing to watch. One of the daughters’ husbands is Irish, and made mutton stew for them along with Irish soda bread and the father started tearing up on camera. He said that it reminded him of bread his mother baked for him when he was a boy in Korea, and I thought it was so remarkable that people across the world from each other were sharing the same bread thorough decades. Some traditions include leaving a piece of buttered bread out on new years, is said to banish hunger for the year. So, if you don’t make cornbread for your black eyed peas, you can make this quickly instead.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of flour
• 1 and 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 4 tbs. sugar
• 1 tbs. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter (one stick) I use salted butter.
• 1 egg

Glaze

• 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup buttermilk

Preparation Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the dry ingredients: Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Use a whisk to make sure it is well combined. Add in the wet ingredients: buttermilk, butter, egg and use a hand mixer to help combine everything. Turn out the dough on a floured surface and kneed it for about 10 minutes. Dust it with flour as needed. It's done when it is about the consistency of Playdough. Form dough into a loaf and put it on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Score a large X in to the top of the dough. Bake.

While the bread is cooking, make the glaze by melting butter, then add the buttermilk and mix. When15 minutes are done, take the bread out of the oven and and brush the glaze over the top of it. You will bake for about an hour, but brushing the glaze every 15 minutes. Use a tooth pick and check the middle of your bread. If it comes out clean it is done. If it doesn't, glaze it again and put it back in for a final 10 minutes. When done, let the bread rest for 20 minutes. Then serve with butter, jam or your black eyed peas.