Hiking on New Year's Eve

Afternoon sun through winter trees
Originally uploaded by lilysecret42

I thought I'd better get my weekly hike in today, since it's supposed to get quite cold and blustery tomorrow. I hiked around French Park for about an hour. The trails were very mucky; I probably wouldn't have gone out had I known, so it's just as well I didn't. Birds of interest included a Hairy Woodpecker and a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers.

Stay safe, all those celebrating tonight. Me, I'll probably be abed by eleven as usual. I live on the edge.

Good Luck Soup

I'm making black eye pea soup today to eat tomorrow on New Year's Day. It is a southern American tradition to eat black eye peas on New Year's Day to bring luck and monetary good fortune in the coming year. I'm not so much superstitious as I am fond of black eye peas, though. The recipe I'm using is "Good Luck Soup" courtesy of Soup Song, which is a truly wonderful website in praise of all things soup. Hoppin' John (black eye peas and rice) is more traditional perhaps, but I'm not very good at making beans and rice.

Good Luck Soup

• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas (they don't need to be soaked)
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 ham hock
• 1/3rd pound smoked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 dried whole chili peppers (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper)
• 1 10-ounce package frozen cut okra, thawed (fresh okra, sliced, is fine)
• salt to taste

In a large soup pot, combine the peas, stock, ham hock, ham cubes, onions, pepper, celery, garlic, and chili peppers. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low, re-cover the pot, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

When the peas are tender, stir in the okra and salt to taste, bring back to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 more minutes. The soup should be thickening and you should stir it frequently to prevent scorching. Remove the cover and cook, stirring, until creamy thick--as much as 10 minutes.

If you are ready to serve, remove the ham hock and chilis and ladle into bowls. If you are saving to serve later, let cool in the pot, then refrigerate. Reheat carefully, stirring often, when preparing to serve.

ETA:I made the following changes to the recipe:

• I sauteed the vegetables in olive oil until soft and beginning to brown, before adding the stock and the beans.
• I didn't have dried chilies so I used cayenne instead, about a teaspoon's worth.
• I certainly didn't add any extra salt - it was salty enough from the ham hock.

New Year's Resolutions!

New Year's Resolutions!

• Learn at least one new thing everyday and blog about it here so I stand some chance of remembering it. Anything goes: a fun fact, a new cooking technique, mastering a new exercise.
• Go hiking once a week, weather permitting.
• Plan one day per month for photography practice and post photos.
• FIND A NEW JOB!!!

That should do for now. I'll add more if I think of anything else.