For New Year's Day Meal... Gary's Cornbread... and Granny's Iron Skillet

New Year's Day Meal

Southern Style

Gary preparing to add some hot sauce
 to his black-eyed peas and turnip greens.

In the South we have a tradition of eating black-eyed peas,

a ham product, greens, and cornbread on New Year's Day.

But do you know why we do it?

According to Wikipedia,

"the tradition dates back to the Civil War, 

when Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman,

 typically stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock,

 and destroyed whatever they could not carry away.

 At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" 

and field corn suitable only for animal fodder,

 and did not steal or destroy these humble foods.

In the Southern United States, the peas are typically cooked 

with a pork product for flavoring 

(such as bacon, ham bones, fatback, or hog jowl), 

diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar.

The traditional meal also includes collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham.

 The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity;

 the greens symbolize money;

 the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.

 Cornbread also often accompanies this meal."

Here's our cornbread...
made in Granny's iron skillet,
... and almost ready to take out of the oven...

Granny's skillet makes the best crispy crust!

Then for dessert,
the cornbread can be topped with a little butter
and some wonderfully delicious home-grown and home-made sorghum!
(In case you're unfamiliar with southern style sorghum,
my experience of watching it be made can be found HERE!)

If you think it looks like there is something unusual in the cornbread,

you are right!

That was Gary's idea!

We often add unusual foods to our cornbread...

this time being diced black olives, whole kernel corn, and chopped jalopenos.

Wishing you and yours a 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My verse for this year is from the words of Saint Peter, who said,

"But grow in grace,

and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

To Him be glory both now and forever.

Amen."

2 Peter 3:18

My most recent Names of God on Rocks 

from Saint Peter can be found HERE!