2017 is here--for better or for worse. Did you start your new year off on the right food with this southern favorite?

Collard greens, people. I'm talking about black-eyed peas and collard greens, the harbinger of CASH MONEY in the approaching 365 days. You eat them both on New Year's Day, and you're supposed to have good luck and good fortune in the days that follow.

I don't know how the tradition got started as far as collards are concerned, but I think it's pretty obvious: leafy greens = additional green.

Black-eyed peas, however, have a bit more interesting story behind their annual January 1st consumption: legend has it, Union soldiers decimated the wares of many southerners after the Civil War--but they passed over the black-eyed peas like the clueless Yankees they truly were. People were able to subsist on those "lucky" peas for quite some time, and the tradition eventually worked its way to the New Year's Day table.

I had a hearty helping of both yesterday--how about you? Did you eat your collards and black-eyed peas like a good Southerner? Sound off in the poll below!

 

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