My Twist on Black-eyed Peas for New Year’s Day.
2023 Was Not a Great Year; I Didn’t Want to Press My Luck in 2024
Mom made Black-eyed Peas every New Year's Day. It was supposed to bring good luck in the coming year.
She never missed a year.
That tradition was passed down to us kids. But for most years, I forgot.
My three sisters, never forget.
Last year, my sister sent me a picture of her pot of black-eyed peas on New Year’s Eve, like the picture above from this year. I went to the store, and they were sold out.
But, since the whole black-eyed pea thing is a Southern tradition and I live in California, I figured I was exempt.
But, Noooo — 2023 was a horrible year for us — all things considered.
Did the Black-eyed Pea Goddess say, “You didn’t follow Mom’s advice, no luck for you.”
Deciding not to risk another year of bad things, I decided to go to the store and buy the damn beans.
Once again, both grocery stores were sold out of both canned and dry black-eyed peas. Two years in a row for crying out loud.
Are there a bunch of Southerners who moved to California?
But if you think about this, there are so many foods eaten on New Years — no one could eat them all.
- Tamales — Mexico
- Doughnuts — Netherlands
- Dumplings — Asian Countries
- Soft Pretzels — Germany
- Butter Bread — Ireland
- Grapes — Spain
- Lentils — Mediterranean
- Cabbage — Eastern Europe
- Paneer Tikka — India
- Long Noodles — China — Japan
And there are probably a bunch I missed.
But doggone-it, I’m not defying the Black-eye Pea Goddess this year.
The store had 15 Bean Soup which happens to have Black-eyed peas as one of the 15 beans.
So be it, bring on the good luck.
