Traditionally, at the beginning of a new year, cultures around the world eat foods that are believed to bring luck and good fortune in the year to come.
Germans eat cabbage dishes for luck, and Sauerkraut with pork ribs make a doubly lucky meal for the new year. You may have heard having a lot of money, being referred to as having a "lot of cabbage."
My favorite comes from the pure southern soul food, black eyed peas. On New Years Day a pot of collard or mustard greens (green like the color of money) are cooked with the dried beans and ham hocks. Black eyed peas and lentils, members of legume family, are roughly shaped like coins, signifying wealth.
Earlier this week I shared a Swedish Christmas dinner with my friends Linda, and her daughter, Jessica Storey. (http://www.lindastorey.com/) The Swedes have a tradition of hiding an almond in the Christmas rice pudding and whoever gets the almond will have good luck in the next year. Linda recently traveled to Germany to have a medical procedure that has huge potential. She had her stem cells transplanted into her spine to treat Multiple Sclerosis, and everyone who knows her is hopeful that the outcome will be positive and she'll experience improvement. Even though her one small bowl of dessert had come from a large pan, Linda found the lucky almond in her rice pudding.
Writing this blog made me stop and ponder the concept of luck, defined as a "chance happening of fortunate or adverse events." Although there are always exterior forces affecting our lives, and it would be wonderful to think that good things can come from something as simple as eating food, I have trouble believing that luck has a large impact on life. Then what is it? Where does the excitement over a lucky almond or following a tradition of eating black eyed peas come from?
I called Linda and asked her what getting the almond meant to her. "I have belief in possibilities," she shared. "When I got the almond, I thought, 'could it be true?' Could getting the almond mean that good things will happen? Believing that anything is possible, and in God, I am always looking for signs that I'm on the right path. Who knows, maybe the almond is a sign."
A call to Blonde #1 drew a similar response. "I believe you can make your own luck. When my kids were little I met a woman who won everything! So, I asked her how she got so lucky and she told me it wasn't luck, 'I think I'll win, and I win!' People who believe they will succeed, do succeed, and people who don't believe in themselves, won't."
I'm confident that if I had made ten more calls each reply would include the words, I believe. Call it what you will, the power of positive thinking, thoughts becoming things, or faith, believing in a positive outcome may help to make it happen. This year when I'm eating black eyes peas on the first day of the new year, rather than wondering if it will bring me luck, I'll be reminding myself about the power of my own thoughts and how they just may help me achieve what I want in the next year.
A new year brings new opportunities and change. I started writing stories about two years ago and the response to a few of the stories that I've shared with friends along with the response to this blog has shown me that it's time to work on the book. I will continue to share recipes here on eatwellchallenge.com but most of my limited free time will go into creating something a bit more lasting. I've asked myself many times why anyone would want to read my stories, and the same answer always comes. The teachers in my life haven't been scholars or experts, they have been just plain folks, getting through the good and bad times by telling stories and sharing their lessons learned. I guess I can do that too.
So rather than wishing you luck in the new year, I'll send this final blog of 2010 along with this wish to you, my friends and readers. Know your value, believe in yourself, and always expect good things.
Happy New Year,
Bonnie
The recipe for this very cold and snowy New Year's Eve in Denver, combines legumes, pork and cabbage. Black eyed peas and cabbage are both healthy foods to start the new year and the pork...well, I've used just a little for flavor. Beans are high in protein and fiber and low in fat and cabbage is a great cleansing vegetable for the post holiday "sugar sludge" that can form from too many party foods.
Black Eyed Peas with Cabbage and Ham
1 lb. dried black eyed peas
2 cups chopped onion
3 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups of cubed lean ham
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
pinch of dried cloves
1-1/2 cups crushed canned tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 cups water or broth
1 green onion, sliced
Rinse the beans with water and remove any little stones or twigs that may be hiding among them.
Bring about 5 cups of water and the beans to a boil in a large pot or dutch oven. After it boils for 2 minutes, cover the pot and let it sit for an hour.
Drain the beans and rinse thoroughly. Add the beans and all the rest of the ingredients to the large pot, cover and let simmer for about an hour until the beans are tender. Serve topped with sliced green onion.
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