These already prepared Black Eyed Peas (no soaking) were an impulse buy. I didn’t want to do major cooking. When I lived in Georgia decades ago I remember going to the General’s Quarters on New Year’s Day and that’s where I learned about the traditional dish. They weren’t a part of my growing up. Eating a spoonful insures good luck for the new year.
Click the link for a vegan recipe.
There are tons of recipes with ham hocks, sausage or bacon too.
2024 arrived with a bang with firecrackers and colorful fireworks across the city. Earlier in the afternoon we saw this young lamb enjoying a peaceful time with his family. spotted a tiny rose blooming,too.
Screen mirroring on a transatlantic call.
It was six hours before our clocks hit midnight but I never saw so many fireworks!
Here’s to the new year.
Guest blog with credit to Colleen and JB
Do you pick one word or phrase as your focus for the upcoming new year? Choosing a word can work as a meaningful guide throughout the year and be a compass for your goals.
Old friends Colleen and JB live far from one another, but for the past several years they meet on January 1st via telephone for their annual “summit”. They discuss their goals and dreams for the future. They come prepared with lists, notes, ideas for “word of the year” as well as a glass of champagne to make an optimistic toast.
The discussion always includes the usual topics like diet and exercise goals and often include budget/debt worries, creative ideas and travel plans. They bring their calendars to plan out a few trips to see one another (well, not this year!). It’s really refreshing to share a friend’s dreams and commit in writing to creative projects or specific action plans. They talk again frequently to check in on progress and offer support.
This year’s words:
Colleen ~ BREATHE. It’s been a stressful year with more to come, and the isolation has her wound up tight. Family health issues are all consuming and make her feel like a little helpless. Big on her action list are meditation, creativity as a release, and taking a good deep breath often.
JB ~ GRACE. Adopted from a book by Melanie Dale Calm the H*ck Down acronym “Gratitude, Read, Adapt, Create, and Engage.” All needed right now to navigate through this unusual and unknown territory ahead.
*Editors Note:If you need inspiration to find a word for the year you can click here to get to a list of 150 possibilities at Happiness is Homemade
My neighbor up the street made a vat of Hopkins County Chicken Stew.(recipe)
She served it at their New Year’s Eve Party Saturday night.
I sent a text to thank her for the nice time and she texted back and invited me to come up around 4, bring an empty container, fill up! I took up a quart jar but she had a couple of gallons.
Yum.
When I got there, I was in awe of the huge pot she made it in. She was in the midst of major clean up from the party. Steve and I ate the warm penne and sweet sausage she sent home along with some stew. Thanks for sharing your leftovers.
I’d never even heard of Hopkins County Stew from Texas.
Turns out there’s a big festival in Sulphur Springs Texas (the fourth Saturday of October) and here is an excerpt from their webpage
“The cooking competition began in 1969, but the roots of the dish date from the late 1800s, The county had approximately 100 schools back then and it became customary to celebrate the end of each school year with stew suppers that were cooked in iron pots over open hardwood fires.
There were no recipes. Families just brought what they had and threw it in the pot. The meat most likely was squirrel, and typically the most dominant vegetables were potatoes, onions, corn and tomatoes.
There is still no authentic recipe for Hopkins County Stew. For the annual cook-off, contestants may use chicken or beef (no squirrel) and there are separate prizes for the best stew with each meat.”
Here is another link to a recipe I will have to ask Susanne which one she used. The ones listed above (potatoes, onions, corn and tomatoes) are still the dominant ingredients.
The other day I was reading Say it With a Camera blog. Mike Hardisty’s accomplishment of 52 in 2015 intrigued me. I read about how to participate in the weekly themed challenge. The part that appealed to me is you have to take photographs during the week of the theme- no archived shots. I read the rules of the group and signed on the participate in the 52 in 2016 Challenge and Day 1 of Week 1 is Monday January 4th.
I like the idea of a new goal in photography. Actively working on something different. A challenge.
Week #1 theme is reflection. Today I was watching my grandson Charlie while his mom, Laura, was packing away the Christmas tablecloth and cleaning up the kitchen. She had just polished the electric kettle and I was standing there in her kitchen and thought, reflection.
A new manual pencil sharpener and left-handed Anna hard at work sharpening every pencil she could find. I thought of the pencils at home that need some new points to write lists, notes and phone numbers. She needed a sharp pencil to complete her homework. Mary suggested the manual as the electric ones break easily or host a crayon. Nothing like a new can of sharpened pencils to represent possibility.