Happy New Year Eve

Happy New Year Eve ( Thursday) – so do you have plans today. I am planning ahead for a typical Southern New Year meal -so enjoy.

What’s the story behind the New Year meal?

Cabbage, the star of sauerkraut, is green like money. As are collards and other sturdy braising greens, obviously. Round, disc-like lentils resemble coins. The silvery scales of pickled herring give off the glint of wealth. Pork comes from pigs, an animal rich with fat

The southern tradition holds that each bite of greens you eat is worth $1,000 in the upcoming year.

Black eye peas is cooked for Good Luck – and if fresh from the shell New life (germination )

Corn bread symbols – gold ( money) Cornbread represents pocket money or spending money. It’s another soul food eaten on New Year’s. The tradition stems from the color of the bread. Its color represented gold or coin money.

Pork is a celebratory dish in any pig-loving culture. Pigs relentlessly root ahead as they eat, as opposed to the backwards scratching of chickens and turkeys, and so are considered a symbol of progress. 

Southern New Year Meal:

Southern Smoothened Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs Oil
• 8 Oz Smoked Sausage, Cut Into 1″ Slices
• 1 Lg Chopped Yellow Onion
• ½  Chopped Green Bell Pepper
• 1  Head Green Cabbage, Cored and Coarsely Chopped
• Salt To Taste
• Red Cayenne Pepper To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large 8 quart Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add sausage, cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage pieces brown, 7-10 minutes.
3. Add onions and bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium.
5. Add cabbage, salt, red cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
6. Cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, about 45 minutes.

“Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold,” goes an old Southern saying. It’s worthy of note that all three were staples of hard-working households that were not flush with income