Greens on the table mean more green in your pocket
Call us superstitious, but we're simply not taking any chances this year on the New Year's Day food front. If ever we needed luck and money, probably like a lot of you, it's now. Don't want to lean too far toward whining, but don't you think the bank accounts could all use a boost?
Look no further than New Year's Day turnip greens and a dish of black-eyed peas. Our grandmothers and mothers all swore to the power of eating greens on Jan. 1 to provide “greenbacks” for the rest of the year. And black-eyed peas were for luck — or for both luck and money in some Southern households.
We like to mix it up: Sometimes we'll make collards, and other times we'll saute kale. But frankly, those other greens have not been working up to our expectations in the past few years. So this holiday, we're betting on turnips — fresh turnips, and greens cooked just like Alicia's grandmother used to make them.
We like to pair our turnips with the Black-eyed Pea Salad that you can find on our KitchenScoop.com website. It's got a bit of diced ham so it's hearty enough for a main dish.
So here's to good luck and good eating in the new year! And, as always, thanks for reading us.
Suggested menu: Fresh Turnips and Greens, black-eyed pea salad and corn muffins.
• Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross are co-authors of “Desperation Dinners!” Write them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. More at the Desperation Dinners website, kitchenscoop.com.