Hoppin' John

It struck me as I was reading your latest journal entry Miss Etta, that some of our readers might not know what Hoppin' John actually is. Ooops, I ended a sentence in a preposition. My English teacher would not be happy.

You're entry took me back to my younger years. In our family, the coin, usually a dime, went into the black-eyed peas. Did you read some of the traditions from other countries on the Fayette Front Page? I think to be on the safe side I'm going to go buy myself a polka-dot shirt and some red underwear. I already have my true love so I won't be wearing yellow!

And, not to ramble, but did you hear that a bunch of rabble-rousers are going to try and disrupt the Rose Bowl Parade? There is a time and place for everything and that is not the place. I certainly hope that tomorrow they will not show the protesters while I am watching it on television. I do so love a good parade, although it is much more fun to be there. I have never been to the Rose Bowl Parade. Have you?

Well, back to Hoppin' John. Here's a saying about eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day: "Eat poor that day, eat rich the rest of the year. Rice for riches and peas for peace."

Supposedly the Hoppin' John tradition goes back as far as 1841, when, according to tradition, the dish hawked in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina by a crippled black man who was know as Hoppin' John. Another story says that the name came from someone named John who came a hoppin' when his wife called him to dinner. And then there's the one that says it has to do with children hoppin' round the table, which is one it sounds like your family took to heart. Which means in my mind that it's the correct one because I know your family has roots back before 1841.

I have a few recipes so I thought I would share them. Different people make it in different ways. The first one is somewhat more involved than the second. It's just a matter of spices and what you like. After the recipes I've included the lazy way to make it.

Hoppin' John Recipe #1

Ingredients:
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
2 small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
2 medium onions, divided
3 large cloves garlic, halved
1 bay leaf
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with chili peppers, juices reserved
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, minced
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 green onions, sliced

In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside. Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf, onion pieces, and garlic.

Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Mince the remaining onion then add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, red and green bell pepper, celery, jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt. Cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced green onions and the reserved diced ham. Serve with hot sauce and freshly baked cornbread.

Hoppin' John Recipe #2

2 cups dried black-eyed peas
Cold water
1 pound lean bacon or 1 pound meaty ham hocks
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (depending how hot you want to make it)
4 cups water or chicken broth (some people use vegetable broth)
2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
Salt and black pepper like you like it

Before preparing dried beans, sort through them thoroughly to get rid of the grit. Soak, rinse, and drain dried black-eyed peas. Place black-eyed peas in a large soup pot over medium-high heat and cover with cold water; bring to a boil. Remove the pot from heat, cover and let it stand for up to 2 hours. Drain and rinse beans.

Using the same large soup pot, over medium-high heat, add soaked black-eyed peas, bacon or ham hock, onion, and red pepper. Add water or chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for up to 2 hours or until the peas are tender (do not let it boil as the beans will burst, they just won't taste or look right).

Remove bacon or ham hock and cut it into bite-size pieces. Return the pieces of meat to pot. Stir in rice, cover, and cook 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

There are some who do not like to cook the rice in the same pot. If you're one of those, then by all means cook it separately and serve it separately, or add the cooked rice right at the last minute.

If you're like most of us you're going to add your own special touch to the Hoppin' John. Some people cook it without all the hot spices and serve it with a hot sauce on the side so everyone can fix it up the way they like it. A side dish of pickle relish is a must for some. If you're going to add a dime like my family does don't cook it in the Hoppin' John, add it at the end. Stir it up good and make sure everyone doesn't go rootin' to find it like I used to do.

For those who are utterly dismal in the kitchen, cheat. Buy some canned, already cooked black eyed peas. If you want to make it all yours, saute some onions and maybe cook some bacon and dump it all in a pan. Add some hot sauce or any of the other spices in the recipes above and put it in a pot. Cook it on the stove or in the microwave. Ta da, quick and easy, lazy Hoppin' John.

Can't Get There From Here

I grew up in rural Georgia. Now there are some folks who say Fayette County is rural, but where I grew up was RURAL. I did live in town, with all of the other 396 residents. Yes, we had less than 400 people in town. Now the dogs and horses did put us up around 500, but I'm told you can't count them.

One memory I have is a car stopping for directions. That was actually rare. Cars stopping by accident in town were few and far between. We did have the one main road in town and the state highway was up at the corner. (Down the road was the other direction.) You see, we weren't even on the state map.

The town was full of beautiful old antebellum homes. Our home was the exception. It was brick, but on the site of an old antebellum home. The old house had burned down and the doctor who owned the house wanted his next home not to be able to burn to the ground. So it was brick, thick brick. And there were doors to the outside from every room in the house except the dining room and the bathroom. Guests were always confused on which door to knock on. And, then, we had to run around to see which door had someone standing outside it.

Oh, here I go, rambling on again.

Anyway, one day, a car stopped up at the corner and asked how to get to another town in the county. Hmm. Well, you just couldn't get there from where we were. We told the man, "You can't get there from here. You have to go to another town and start there." You would have thought we had grown extra heads or something.

It was really quite logical. You really couldn't get there from here. You really did have to go to another town and pick up another highway and then find a small unmarked road and follow it to an even smaller one road town. We tried to explain it the best we could. I imagine he did go to the other town and start over on his quest.

Going to Newnan on Friday was just like that for me. I was looking for the newer movie house and had gotten my directions from the computer. Roads have sprung up out of nowhere and houses are everywhere over there now. It's like a real city. Anyway, I faithfully followed the directions taking Lower Fayetteville Rd. I never saw the next five turns mentioned. They weren't there. In other words, I couldn't get there from here.

I did wind up seeing the name of the road that the movie house is on, so I took a guess and turned on it. Lucky for me, I turned the correct way. Needless to say, coming home, I used the main roads. There was no way I was gonna get lost and have to ask for directions. I'm sure I would have heard echoes in my head. " You can't get there from here."

Now the question remains. Where can't you get?

Have a good day, Miss Faye.

Miss Etta

White Trash

Miss Etta, I plum forgot to tell you when I wrote earlier about my White Trash encounter!

One of my relatives brought some along for us all to try over the Christmas holidays. It was so yummy. She said that she had found it in a Southern Living magazine and that THEY called it White Christmas.

I suppose they felt the need to be politically correct. She did say that everyone else in her neck of the woods called it White Trash. She said she had made enough to give as gifts in little tins to everyone who didn't warrant a 'real' gift.

I don't remember if your recipe had peanut M & M's? I will have to go back and look. I would think that almost any favorite chocolate candy would be good in it.

I still have a little bit left. It won't be around much longer.

Nothing to sneeze at...

Well Miss Etta, I know you are off visiting family. I hope you are enjoying yourself immensely. A lot of people are on the roads and in the air traveling to see their dear ones (or not so dear ones in some cases).

I have been blessed to have most of our family come home to roost in Georgia. They are all near enough that we can see each other when we choose without too much difficulty, yet we are far enough apart to ensure we don't can't look over the fence or drop in unannounced for breakfast.

I plan to retire early tonight but thought I would at least share a word or two with our readers. I have noted that our readership is already growing considerably so we must be saying something someone want to read. Either that or a lot of people are interested in mint juleps.

Earlier I talked a bit about white elephants. Today I used the term "nothing to sneeze at" while talking with a friend and decided I needed to find out were that term came from.

Sneezing is something you try not to do in polite company. Ladies used to carry delicate hankies in the event they were overtaken by a sneeze (although they certainly had other reasons for carrying the lacy pieces of cloth). You should never sneeze loudly and should always cover your mouth. If a hankie or tissue is available it should be employed.

Why would someone say something was nothing to sneeze at? Who sneezes AT something?

It seems that manners have changed over the years. In times gone by high society went through some misguided craze where they induced sneezes. Yes, it is true. Everyone who was anyone would carry a box of ground herb mixed with tobacco. A pinch stuffed into the nostril produced a very loud sneeze.

Because most of the people partaking of the sneezing craze were in the so-called leisure class, it became a mark of indolence. If they heard some piece gossip or news they would stuff the nasty mix into their nose, then sneeze to show they were bored with what they'd heard. When something isn't too be sneezed at, it is important. It is something that wouldn't evoke a sneeze.

I am SO glad that practice has gone by the wayside. I do not think I will be using that phrase nearly as much in the future knowing its history!