Hoppin John - Oh So Good

Good Monday friends.  Hope you survived the fall back.  Our daughters, who have young children, are suffering the time change with children getting up really early according to the new clock setting.  I must laugh because we have been there and certainly done that.  They just don't remember what it was like because they were the small children.  What goes around....as they say.

Today, I am sharing a recipe for Hoppin John.  My son, John, taught me how to make this years ago and it is absolutely wonderful.  Hoppin John is a combination of rice and black eyed peas and other goodness like bacon and onions and bell pepper.

My research tells me they are not sure where the name comes from, but Hoppin John was mentioned in cookbooks as far back as 1847.  Chances are, this was a dish made by slaves since there are similar dishes eaten in Africa.

Hoppin John is often served on New Year's Day in the south as a symbol of good fortune for the coming year.  The black eyed peas stand for coins.  Sometimes a few coins are placed under the plate of guests.  Corn bread is served for the color of "gold" and some kind of greens - like turnip or collards - which stands for money, are also served. Supposedly, if you eat this you will have good fortune and prosperity throughout the year.

I don't want to wait until New Year's Day to eat this delicious dish.  It is easy to make and very nutritious.  I promised my friend Linda, who lives in Texas, that I would post this recipe today.  She LOVES black eyed peas and wants to make this recipe.  Here is what you need:

6-8 slices of bacon, cut crossways
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed*
2 cups rice
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

In a deep pot, brown the bacon until crisp.  Drain most of the bacon fat off, leaving enough to brown the onions, bell pepper and garlic.  When the onions become translucent, add the garlic, bacon, drained black eyed peas, the rice, and chicken broth.   Cook until the rice is done and most of the liquid has been absorbed.   Stir several times so the rice doesn't stick.  Add salt and pepper if needed.  I didn't add any salt.

*I used Bush's black eyed peas with bacon and jalapeno to add a little kick.  They are not hot, just have a little more flavor.  Try it if you like a little something extra.

This can be a complete meal if you wish, or served as a side.  Delicious!  It also reheats well.

If you are looking for some new winter recipes, this one is a good one to try.  It is easy, nutritious, and delicious.  Remember to serve it on New Year's Day for extra good fortune in the coming new year.  We can all use more good fortune!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember

“How people could actually get themselves all worked up about saving the grizzly bear of the Rockies, and sit calmly by while such a magnificent dish as South Carolina Hoppin' John faces extinction, was more than I could ever understand.”

Sheila Hibben (1888-1964)

Quinoa Salad With Home Made Cilantro Dressing

Happy Monday one and all.  Hope your weekend was spectacular.  Ours was super busy with fall ball games and keeping grandsons overnight so our daughter and son in love could celebrate their anniversary with a stay at the Opryland Hotel.  With two little guys aged 3 and 18 months, they deserved a little respite and Grandma and Pawpaw were more than happy to help out.

Out other daughter and her family are in the throws of fall ball (no pun intended).  Practices, school, games, jobs - you know how busy life can be.  To show a little mercy, I invited them for dinner last night because Holly spends most of her Sunday on writing assignments to meet deadlines for her editors.  It helps if she doesn't have to worry about feeding her three boys and husband after a day of brain drain.

There is always that dilemma of what to fix that the boys will eat.  The 10 year old is super finicky, the 6 year old is not quite so finicky and the 3 year old is a roll of the dice.  Our son in love has celiac so there is that whole gluten issue to deal with.  Meals can present a challenge.  Last night I fixed enchilada casserole which is made with corn tortillas and contains no gluten.  I made the red sauce with corn starch instead of flour.  For sides, we grilled corn on the cob and I made this beautiful quinoa salad.

Do you know about quinoa (keen-wa) or have you tried it?  It is delicious and gluten free.  My research tells me it is not a true grain in the sense of wheat or oats, but has been cultivated in the Andes mountains for over 3,000 years.  Quinoa is full of protein and calcium, anti oxidants, and is easy to digest.  It is great for vegan diets.  The boys love it and will actually eat it.  It has a lovely mild, nutty flavor and can be served plain or added to other dishes.  There are many ways to "jazz" up quinoa.  The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2013 the year of Quinoa because they believe it could go a long way in eradicating food insecurity worldwide due to its nutritional value.

I had found a recipe for a southwest quinoa salad on Pinterest and it looked good.  It was made with quinoa, black beans, corn, and diced tomatoes.  We were having corn on the cob so I didn't want to use corn in the salad.  For this salad I used, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, green onions, red bell pepper, black olives, and a really tasty cilantro lime salad dressing.  Oh, and I threw in some crumbled bacon that I had left from BLT sandwiches.  Yum.  Crunchy vegetables work well with the soft, mild quinoa.

To make the salad, here is what you need:

Quinoa prepared according to package directions.

(You use 1 cup dry quinoa to 2 cups liquid.  I made 2 cups and that's a lot of quinoa.  If you are feeding 2-4 people, use 1 cup quinoa although I am loving the left over salad.)

1 medium red bell pepper diced
3 green onions, whites and greens cut on a diagonal
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 avocado, diced
sliced black olives, optional  (add as many as you like)
5 slices cooked crisp bacon, crumbled (optional)

Cook the quinoa according to package directions and let cool.  Put the cooled quinoa in a serving bowl and cover with the ingredients you choose to use.  The possibilities are endless really.  I like leaving all the "yummies" on the top so that when you serve the salad, they don't all fall to the bottom.  You can mix it up if you so desire.

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing

I didn't measure what I threw in the blender, but this is pretty close.

about 1/2 cup plain fat free greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
juice of one lime or lemon
1/2 to 3/4 of a bunch of cilantro
small pinch of salt

Place ingredients in a blender and whir until blended and cilantro is all chopped.  This dressing is fantastic on any salad.

Serve dressing on the side.  You may like to eat the salad without the dressing like Dan does, but the bright, flavorful dressing adds a nice zip to the salad in my opinion.  If you don't like cilantro, use basil or avocado in it's place.

I had a nice big helping of this salad this evening and it is deeeeeeeeelicious.  Think of all the possibilities for things to add to quinoa to make a healthy salad or it could be eaten as an entree.  It would be especially good for a meatless meal (minus the bacon).

If you haven't tried quinoa, this salad a good way to introduce it into your diet, or you could serve it plain as a side dish in the place of rice or potatoes.  We will definitely be eating it more often since it has been called a super food.  We are always looking for things that taste good and are good for you.  Give it a try.  I think you will like it.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Quinoa is great for lazy day cooking because it's packed with complete proteins, but it cooks in only 20 minutes. And, you can flavor it any way you wish! I make mine with onions, lots of ground ginger, turmeric and coriander, and then whatever dried fruit and nuts I have around.

Aarti Sequeira, Food Network

Roasted Squash, Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, and Parmesan Cheese

Recently, I have been volunteering in the kitchen of a homeless shelter planning and cooking healthy and nutritious meals.  The shelter is in a food desert and they have a community teaching garden where interested people can come and learn how to grow fresh organic food in their own yard.  There are dedicated volunteers who give of their time and energy to help friends and neighbors learn how to better their health through the food they grow and eat.  Our director said as many as 50% of the people who cross our threshold are diabetic and do not have access to healthy food.  We are working to change that statistic.

We also have a pantry that is stocked by Second Harvest every Monday.  Shoppers are allowed to come 3 times in a 6 month period to get food for their families.  The need is great and supplies do not always meet demand.  It is very heartbreaking indeed.   The shelter has been in operation since 1965, but is expanding their community outreach with their main emphasis being food - healthy food.

Our next goal is to teach families how to prepare the food that we have in the pantry.  It is amazing how many people have no idea how to cook fresh vegetables because they have never had access to them.  Last year, the garden volunteers went to a neighborhood school and taught them how to grow vegetables in raised beds.  The children were amazed that food came from the ground.  They thought it only came from the grocery store.  It's time to change these concepts.

I love to cook and spending my mornings preparing a meal for people who sometimes may not have eaten for several days, is the most gratifying thing I have done in my life - hands down, bar none.  The smiles on their faces after a warm, delicious, nutritious meal means more than to me than any job or accomplishment in my life.  Watching strangers and neighbors talking, enjoying good food is a beautiful sight.  Everyone is warm, sharing and caring.  There is no one hoarding or piling their plate up like you sometimes see at a buffet.  The concern for their neighbor, wanting to make sure everyone gets something to eat is so soul satisfyingly wonderful, that I have to keep myself from breaking into tears many times.  Selfish is a word that does not even cross the threshold.  Seeing the little children eating good nutritious food is all I need to make my day.  A smile, kind words, a pat or hug and good food could change the world's attitude one meal at a time.

We make every effort to make the food taste good, look good,  and serve things that many have never eaten.  If you make food look and taste good, it's amazing what people will eat and really, really like it.  Last week, we made this roasted squash dish (in the picture above) that was so delicious.  Several people said they had never eaten squash, or they didn't like it.  Squash can be one of the most bland foods on the planet, so we encouraged them to try it prepared this way and every one, to a person, said they loved it and would eat it again.  That's why bland food will turn anyone away from even trying it.  We eat with our eyes first, so preparation and presentation is very important.

This is the way we made the roasted squash.  We are serving about 100 people a day, so I will give you the recipe for home preparation like in the picture above.  Actually, I made this for our family on Sunday.  It's easy and sooooo good.  I forgot to take a picture after it was done.  Oops.

Use a 9x13 pan and  6-8 medium sized yellow crook neck squash.  Wash and dry the squash.  Cut the tips off each end and cut into circles about 1/2 inch thick.  Add several cups of grape tomatoes, cut a shallot (or onion) into rings and scatter over the squash.    Dice a red bell pepper and scatter over the squash.  I also used a green banana pepper that is a little spicy for a little extra color and flavor.  Drizzle all the vegetables with some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix together with your hands and place in a 350 degree oven and cook uncovered until all the vegetables are just getting soft.  Add 1 1/2 cups of fresh grated parmesan cheese to the vegetables, return to the oven and cook until the cheese melts.  Remove from the oven and serve.  The flavor of the parmesan just kicks this dish up one more notch.  We also drizzled it with some balsamic vinegar.  I didn't do that at home, because Dan would not eat it otherwise.  The balsamic is your choice.  Personally, I think it's fantastic.

This is a really easy dish to prepare, it is beautiful to look at with all the bright colors and is super nutritious and healthy.  It's an excellent side dish to just about any entree, or you could serve it over rice or pasta.

Cooking doesn't have to be hard or take all day.  This dish can be prepared in less than an hour and there are so many benefits to having fresh vegetables roasted in olive oil.  The more colorful the fruits and vegetables, the more vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants they contain.  The more vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants they contain, the better you will feel and your health will improve.  That is a worthwhile goal.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Food made with love and shared could change the world.  There is so much abundance and waste in our country, it is heartbreaking.  Time for a new direction.  donna