NEW YEAR'S TRADITIONS

Our one enduring New Year's tradition is to have black eyed peas for good luck. I usually have ham for Christmas and save the ham bone to cook with black eyed peas for New Year's Day. It makes a nice meal with a big pan of cornbread that I bake in a cast iron skillet. It also makes enough so that we can invite neighbors or friends in to share in the good luck meal with us.

For those of you who do not like black eyed peas, you might like to try Texas Caviar which can be served as a side dish with a meal.

2 cups black-eyed peas (fresh cooked or canned)
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 small can of chopped green chiles
Dash of cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons minced celery
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, minced (or more, if you are a cilantro fan)
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

DIRECTIONS: Drain peas, rinse with cold water and drain again.
Combine olive oil, chiles, cayenne, onion, celery, vinegar, salt and pepper, and mix well. Pour over peas and stir gently. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
At serving time, add chopped tomatoes and cilantro, and mix carefully. Yum!