Happy New Year!

I spent today helping in the kitchen. Sour dough loaves were rising on the counter. Black-eyed peas and rice with a cayenne pepper for hoppin’ John simmered on the stove, and a big pot of collards and hocks bubbled on the next burner. I got to taste-test the bacon for the hoppin’ John—crisp and salty. I wanted more, but no one offered. My Human Male made skillet cornbread to go with the pot likker. All of this simmering and baking and pouring on of hot sauce is a centuries-old Southern New Year’s ritual for bringing good luck and a large bank roll in the coming year, which my Human Male says we certainly could use. I agreed, and would gladly have assisted, but the rice and beans and collards were not to my liking. I wonder how much luck and cash some New Year’s hocks and bacon will bestow, y’all.