Happy New Year! Hoppin John in New Hampshire

Photo Illustration by Jessica Walsh for the New York Times

I sure could use some.

The Ellinwoods are in a very weird place.

On the surface things look perfectly normal--well normal for us anyway--with five boys plus a Korean exchange student lounging around for the seemingly endless Christmas vacation making noodles and building with Legos and tuning skis and sledding up a storm at White Park and texting until their thumbs go numb--and while there is still plenty of laughter at the dinner table and heat and electricity, the truth is we are broke.

I mean really and truly broke-ass broke.

And barring some miracle that I can't even imagine, 2011 is going to be a pretty tough year.

We will almost certainly lose our house. And I'm not sure what happens when you can't pay the taxes that are due in April, but that can't be pretty either.

The odd thing is I'm not too stressed out about our financial collapse.

Somehow, after 49 years of being wound more tightly than Cameron Fry, I've just let go.
There isn't anything I can do to stop what is going to happen--except buy cheaper wine, not get the New York Times at home 7 days a week and stop shopping for anything but food and toilet paper; and since I've already done that, I'm just hanging on for the roller coaster ride and pretending the tingly feeling in my stomach is just anticipation for the climb back up to the top.

Here's the reality check:

I fiercely love my husband.
I continue to believe in his entrepreneurial dream of a green business.
I have five healthy children who will soon be back in school.
I can still write checks to Market Basket.
I have a few good friends.
I take pride in my job even though I think I made more waitressing in college.
I found a white Prada blouse at the thrift shop in my size.
I write a food column with an *amazing* partner that is a dream come true.
I enjoy driving Ken Williams and Robin crazy trying to make endless plates of brown food look appetizing.
I actually get paid for nonsense I think up in my head, and said nonsense gets published in a newspaper.


Everything else , and I mean everything is just stuff.

O.K. it is A LOT of stuff, but so what.

We'll put a bunch of it in storage, sell or give away the rest and move on.

We'll figure something out. We always have.

This might be the longest lead in to a recipe in the history of this blog, and we are some wordy bitches.

The other day I read this terrific opinion piece in the Times about black-eyed peas and the tradition in the African American community of serving them on New Year's day to bring prosperity in the coming year.

The dried legumes were loaded onto slave ships to be used as food during the voyage and by the early 1700s were growing all over the American south. Like so many other African dishes, black eyed peas made their way to the masters' table. They haven't made it too far north--until yesterday I don't think I'd ever eaten them and know I've never cooked them.

As Julia Harris writes,

Whatever the exact reason, black-eyed peas with rice form one corner of the African-American New Year’s culinary trinity: greens, beans and pig. The greens symbolize greenbacks (or “folding money”) and may be collards... The pork is a remembrance of our enslaved forebears, who were given the less noble parts of the pig as food. But without the black-eyed pea, which journeyed from Africa to the New World, it just isn’t New Year’s — at least not a lucky one.

Hopefully the very white, very northern Ellinwoods will find some luck in 2011 with Hoppin John.

I adapted this recipe from Emeril Lagasse. I have no idea if it is authentic, but it was delicious. He specifies using a ham hock but I couldn't find any. The smoked picnic shoulder was cheap and yummy--and a mere half pound, carved from the bone, added a smoky richness to the dish that turned rice and beans into a hearty meal. If I couldn't find the smoked shoulder I think I'd use slab cut bacon, diced and fried--when has bacon ever been a bad choice?





Hoppin John
Serves 8-10 generously

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound smoked picnic shoulder
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or more or less to taste
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
• 3 cups steamed white rice
• Hot sauce for serving (optional)

Directions

Dump the dried peas into a large covered pot and cover with cool water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil. After 2 minutes shut off the heat, cover the pot and let it sit for at least an hour.

Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces and fry in a heavy soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat until it is browned and all the fat has been rendered, about 4-5 minutes.
Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add the onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic, cook for 4 minutes.
Add the black-eyed peas, stock, bay leaves, thyme, and seasonings.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until the peas are creamy and tender, stirring occasionally.
If the liquid evaporates, add more water or stock--the dish should be fairly soupy.
Adjust seasonings, and garnish with green onions.
Serve over rice and pass the hot sauce.

All y'all have a happy new year. And try to remember, it could ALWAYS be worse!