Don’t Borrow Trouble, Folks: Eat Your Peas and Greens

Congratulations! If y’all are reading this post then you survived Christmas and all of the joy which comes with the season - outlet mall present snatching, ugly Christmas sweaters,  nonstop Christmas songs on your favorite radio station, sausage balls galore and enough eggnog to keep the Christmas spirit flowing as you gather with family to commune over ham, pie and remember the baby Jesus. I salute you!

New Year’s Day is a holiday near and dear to all Southerners’ hearts. It involves all our favorite things - reflection, new beginnings, traditions, superstitions and food. Southerners are far more complex humans than the average person realizes, and each one of these things will have a seat at the table on New Year’s Day. 

The traditional Southern meal for the first day of the new year will consist of black-eyed peas for luck; cabbage for prosperity; hog jowl for health (not kidding, you gotta love the South); and greens for money.

Superstition dictates this is what should be on the plate or we are inviting the fates to wreak havoc on any given day throughout the year. Black-eyed peas are African as are most "Southern" vegetables. Their cultivation dates back 5,000 years, and peas were brought to the United States during the transatlantic slave trade, and I figure that some of the folklore and superstition surrounding New Year’s day traditions comes from Africa as well. 

Don't borrow trouble, folks. Cook the peas and the greens and know that you did everything you could to ensure a safe, happy and prosperous year and hopefully a fresh start with cousin Beulah after the Christmas fruitcake incident of 2019.

Ah, Reflection: Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going?  

My Southern roots run deep as a chef, and I feel strongly that I have a responsibility to stay true to those roots, to respect the ingredients and to encourage people to learn about Southern culture.

Food brings people together, opens conversations and provides a window into cultures and traditions that may be different than your personal experience. It`s the perfect day and the perfect plate for me to remember where I come from, why do I want to cook the things I cook, and how I can take something old and turn it into something new.

Last year, I made Ramen using collard greens, hog jowl, cabbage and black-eyed peas. 

This year, I will pull out my cast iron skillet for a batch of cornbread to go with the mess of greens and the pot of peas stewing on the stove all day, and I will remember the smells and aromas of my grandmother’s house on this special day: black-eyed peas, collard greens, cabbage and pork fat - or goodness and love. The house where I learned to cook and learned to love.  

Those memories will inspire me to create and cook beautiful food in my restaurant and my home, using simple ingredients while paying respect and honoring those who came before me and showing love to my community and to my south.

Happy New Year!