A NEW YEAR AND NEW RESOLTUIONS

I have made a great many of them, such as putting rutabagas in birthday cake. I broke that one after the first bite. Then there was my great idea of making scrambled eggs with Listerine for those that wanted a fresh taste after eating and are too lazy to rinse after breakfast.

I ruined that idea by adding a bottle of beer to me, not the eggs. I didn't even try the Listerine thing again, but I sure kept drinking beer. My life has been like that every New Year for the lass 100 or so. I did talk to Methuselah a long time ago. I asked him what were some of his old New Year resolutions. He said, "if I were young enough I could remember what I was supposed to remember about resolutions". Oh, he added, "I remember the American resolution, the French resolution, and any other resolution, including the resolution of my 361st wife, not to remember me.

Whatever!

So following Methuselah's advice, I forgot about everything except some old southern New Year dishes that were standard at New Year celebrations. One of the more primitive ones was cooking a pigs head and serving it with black eye peas and a fair amount of some liquid that you would forget what you were supposed to east to bring good luch for the New Year. (I always imagined it was an out of season watermelon). One of the more favored ways to make the New Years dish is to make Hopping John which goes as follows:

1# fresh black eye peas. 3/4 # good salt pork (streak of lean, steak of fat). Cold water equal to bulk of peas, salt & pepper. 1 onion. 1-cup raw rice boiled separately.

Boil meat; sliced or diced & peas to double their bulk until peas are tender. (An onion is cooked with peas). Leave some liquid in pan. Cook rice till dry and flaky -- when done add rice to peas and a tablespoon of butter, a pinch of ground red pepper, salt & pepper to taste. Simmer until flavor is blended (about 10 minutes). Liquid should be absorbed. Serve hot -- thank the Lord I'm a Yankee (sometimes).

Recipe of Mrs. Margaret Rolf of Columbia, SC.