Traditional  foods  for the New Year are thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes completing a year's cycle. For this reason, the Dutch and others believe that eating donuts on this Day will bring good fortune.

Grandma Johnson always had her special Fried cake donuts. Sometimes they would be covered with white sugar and sometimes powdered sugar.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the  by consuming black eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by ham or pork. They are considered good luck in many cultures. The hog  is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage or collards are other "good luck" vegetables that are consumed on New Year's Day by many. Green Cabbage  leaves are considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some countries  rice is a lucky food when eaten on The first Day of the year.

Black-eyed peas have long been a tradition for the New Year's table in the belief that this humble little legume will bring good luck for the entire year. Find out more about how this American custom started, and also some recipes to add a traditional dish of black-eyed peas to your table.

The recipe here is in keeping with God's creation intent (Genesis 1:29-31):  'Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it-- I give every green plant for food." And it was so.   God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.'

Cornbread is Gold

HISTORY: Black-eyed peas are neither a pea nor a bean. They are lentils. Brought to the West Indies from Africa, they came north into Georgia in the 1730s and multiplied so rapidly that they became known as the common "field pea". The black-eyed pea is also known as the cowpea because they were important as a feed for cattle in eighteenth-century America. President Jefferson even planted black-eyed peas at Monticello.

Black eyed peas          and           Soup 
 are signs of 

Good Luck! in the New Year!

            signs of prosperity.
cabbage  &  collards

The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.

I heard about the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl game since I was a child. Grandparents talked of how wonderful it was to see the Parade. I didn't see it until we acquired a television in 1954. That was exciting so see something we had only heard of. 

Rose Bowl Football Game
Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the festival

The Rose Bowl games were broadcast on the radio and the relatives would all get together at Grandma's house and the men would sit around the radio and listened to the game while the women finished up cleaning up dinner dishes in the kitchen. We children had to be outside where we entertained ourselves playing together. We didn't have organized games. We made our own fun.

Black Eyed Pea Soup

2 lbs. Black-eyed Peas, dried
3 cups Onions, diced
1 - 6-oz. can Tomato Paste
4 Bay Leaves
Cayenne Pepper or Hot Sauce, to taste (optional)

This black-eyed pea soup is best prepared the evening before you want to serve it. 

Turn on the slow cooker (Crock-Pot) to "high."(6-1/2 quart slow cooker, if you have a smaller pot, cut the recipe in half.)

Boil 12 cups of water and carefully pour into the cooker pot. Cover with the lid.

While the water is boiling, wash the dried black-eyed peas in a strainer and remove any extraneous matter.  It is best to do this in quantities of no more than one cup at a time.  Add the black-eyed peas to the pot, and cover again.

Add the bay leaves. 

Before going to bed, turn the slow cooker down to "low."

FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR
 Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of another New Year.

As children in Wisconsin and Iowa, we were allowed to stay awake until the New Year came. This and Christmas Eve are the only nights this was accepted. It was a privilege and we looked forward to blowing paper noise makers and wearing funny pointed paper hats on our heads. At midnight we would stick our heads outside and scream "Happy New Year!" so all the neighborhood could hear. We would then sing Auld lang Syne.

AULD LANG SYNE
The song, "Auld Lang Syne,"  is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the New Year.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
And here's a hand, my trusty friend
And here's a hand o' thine
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne

We always had noise makers made out of metal and wore hats to celebrate. All the friends and neighbors would gather in the middle of the street and wish one another HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Note:  I loved New Years Eve while in high school as I would always get a babysitting job, and it was the highest paying night of the year. 35¢ an hour but always many hours. Often 6-8 hours and that was big money!  Usually got a tip so maybe $3!!. (Almost as much as I had for an entire month's allowance. That was $5.  BUT one dollar went to church and one dollar had to go to savings so I had $3 to buy anything else I might need that month.)

Many factors influence cooking times.  Use this information as a guideline, but the actual cooking times may vary depending on your pressure cooker, heat source and the quality and/or quantity of the food. Click here for more information about the varieties and types of grains.

For best results with grains, and to avoid scorching, use Vickie's PIP cooking method. Just add grain and liquid to a pan than will fit loosely inside the cooker, add water and rack to the cooker and set the pan on the rack and then cook as usual. If you cook directly in a `cooker do not fill it more than half full.

• Rinse: Just rinse the grain thoroughly in cold water until the water runs clear. Strain them to remove any dirt or debris.
• Toasting: Pre toasting will enhance the flavor of almost any grain. Place grains on a cookie sheet in a preheated 300 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes. Store in a tightly covered container in a cool place.
• Release: Use the natural release method.
• Test: Test grains for doneness—most whole grains are slightly chewy when cooked.
• Fluff: Many grains benefit from fluffing. When grains are done cooking, remove from the heat and gently lift and separate them with a fork. Replace the cover, and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes before serving.