I don't know what got into me yesterday, but I suddenly felt energized and motivated to cook my Grandmother Sanders' Traditional New Year's Day meal. Roasted ham, bacon ridden black eyed peas, fresh collards with ham drippings, and corn bread from scratch.
I think it just hit me, that since her passing away no one in my immediate family does it anymore or at least does like she did. Since the meal has become memorable for me, I can only assume it will be for my two children, whether they gagged at my collards or not. They'll at least remember the gagging.
Each dish is believed to bring its own good fortune to your new year. A nice fatty ham or pork dish symbolizes wealth and abundance. Greens are consumed in hopes of lots of money. Corn bread for its rich golden color and finally, black eyed peas. The story goes that black eyed peas are considered lucky because they were all a confederate soldier could find to eat in the woods during the hard Civil War and to find black eyed peas were lucky.
Before
After
Yes, we used Saints napkins. My 6 year old daughter insisted on setting the table with beverage napkins and that's what I came up with. Now I'm going to warm up my left overs. My mouth waters at the thought of next New Years Day when I can do it again.
I've a lot of left overs, so I'm going to do my best to consume my ham during the upcoming days. Come back and see what I've got cooked up for tomorrow!
"Here's to the bright New Year
And a fond farewell to the old;
Here's to the things that are yet to come
And to the memories that we hold."
