Enough tangentialism... Back to Hoppin' John. Does this make this a blog hop now? What are those things anyway? Blog hops. Hmmm.
Hoppin' John is a dish that is traditionally eaten in the South on New Year's Day. Hoppin' John always includes black eyed peas. I think black eyed peas represent prosperity. Either that or a can of black eyed peas will become a collectible. So remember to save black eyed pea cans.
Here's your trivia of the day: If you eat Hoppin' John as a leftover (like on January 2nd) it's no longer called Hoppin' John. What's it called?
Hint 1: ( fill in the blank) let's not "jump" or "___" to conclusions, shall we...
Hint 2: She married a short Scientologist.
If you guessed "Leapin Katie" you are correct!!! Leapin Katie is leftover Hoppin John!
We had a small gathering of friends who mean a lot to us (and also had no place else to go) over on New Year's Day. My friend Marcia and I had both planned to make Hoppin' John. So dang it we had a shoot out, to see which Hoppin' John was left standing. Actually both Hoppin' John's were vegan of course, but that's where the similarity ended. Marcia made a Hoppin' John salad, that was as lovely as it was delicious. Marcia remembered that I have a gag reflex when it comes to celery, but had forgotten that the gag reflex only happens with cooked celery. Marcia left it out even though the salad was cold. You could make it either way, with or without celery but it would be unlikely since I didn't get the recipe from Marcia. I'll hit Marcia up for it though. We'll probably have coffee and celery sticks later this week. I want Marcia to come work with me!!! Below is reason # 575 I want to work with Marcia again! I love her salad.
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| Marcia's Hoppin' John |
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| Hoppin' John with Fragrant Basmati Rice and Roasted Rosemary Reds |
3 cans Black Eyed Peas drained and rinsed
2 C White Basmati Rice
3 C Vegan Broth ( I use 365 brand) for the rice
1-2 More C Vegan Broth for the Hoppin' John Mix
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic smashed and minced
2 C carrots chopped
1 bell pepper medium dice
1/2 C (or more) Daiya vegan cheese
1/4 C low sodium soy sauce
1/2 packet creole or taco seasoning (taco seasoning has paprika, red chili and black pepper so it works)
2-4 T Tabasco sauce (to taste)
1 Package Italian Tofurky Sausage cut into rounds and halved
21 salute seasoning to taste
1 bag spinach optional (to add in the last 3 minutes of cooking)
Directions:
You can cook your Basmati rice in a separate pot than the Hoppin' John. You can make any kind of rice you like. I'm partial to Basmati. The color of the rice comes from the broth it's cooked in (and the Daiya that is later added). Rinse and drain the rice and then add with broth to a big sturdy pot. Bring to a boil and then turn to low. Spray another large pot with cooking spray and saute onion, and garlic for about 4 minutes, add carrots and pepper, and Tofurky and cook for another minute. Salt to taste. Add the drained and rinsed black eyed peas, and the remaining broth and seasoning mix. It should be ready about the same time as the rice. How cool is that.
Cook the rice for about 17-20 minutes. When I cook basmati it almost always takes 17 minutes. Stir in the Daiya, and salt to taste. Remove from stove.
Serve with vegan sour cream, Tabasco, spinach, balsamic, even roasted red potatoes.
Happy New Year y'all. Here's to a prosperous, healthy, compassionate 2012. Remember to stock up on those black eyed peas!
