I can’t say that I love or hate to cook. I love eating a variety of foods. I search for the most interesting dishes, depending on which ingredients I have on hand, what genre I’m in the mood for, and in general, however the stars have aligned.
Since Saturday was the start of the new year, I indulged in a touch of superstition by preparing an auspicious meal: Hopping John, Sautéed Spinach, and Cornbread. As far as I know, the greens and cornbread represent money because they’re green and gold. I think the meat in the Hopping John show prosperity since, traditionally, only people with money could afford meat. Beans are meant to bring good luck. Honestly, I think that good luck bit is just to make people feel better because although luck is dubious, flatulence is nearly guaranteed.
My temperament and schedule aren’t such that I’d cook all three in one go. As a matter of fact, since I also believe in leftovers, it suited me just fine to cook one of these recipes throughout the week, culminating in having all three by Saturday.
My grocery shopping day is Monday, unless there’s a holiday.
So Tuesday, I prepared Hopping John, a spicy bean dish, flavored with bacon, onions and chicken broth. The recipe also called for corn, but I was not in the mood for that. Plus, I bought spicy chicken bone broth for the occasion.
Usually when I make a bean and rice dish, I’m reminded of my Peace Corps days. Yet, I never had Hoppin’ John in Tanzania. I hardly ever eat pinto beans at any other time of year. Flavored with pepper bacon and spicy chicken bone broth, this seemingly simple dish was elevated. All the other ingredients add texture and subtle flavor. Since this was the most complex of all the dishes I made, it marinated wonderfully every day up to New Year’s Day.
For lunch on New Year’s Eve, I sautéed spinach in olive oil, fresh garlic and a little salt.
Once the spinach was bright green, I turned off the heat and sprinkled parmesan on it. This wasn’t the way I grew up eating spinach, but since I already had bacon in the beans, I didn’t want to double pork the overall meal I’d have for New Year’s Day.
On New Years Day, I baked corn bread.
I’ve been baking on Saturdays for nearly two years. I like baking a quiche, biscuits, muffins, breads, breakfast casseroles/ bundts, so I can warm them up during the week for breakfast. Once I read how much sugar and shit was in cereal and other processed breakfast foods, I started making my own on a weekly basis.
Just like the other two dishes, I tried a new recipe for the cornbread as well. For this culinary experience, I used a combination of coconut flour and corn meal. I took it upon myself to add a can of hot green chilis. I wish I would have taken the same initiative to add sharp cheddar to the mix. Nowadays, my palate associates cornbread with being moist, a little sweet, some spiciness and the cheese adds to the flavor. So, I’ll just have to make this recipe again in 2022 to test out my theory.
My family originally planned to have our Zoom call at 11 AM, then 3 PM.
None of that worked out, but the later time worked in my favor. I didn’t have to rush through my dinner. For the first time, I had all three cooking efforts together. They tasted delicious together regardless of whether the meal brings me luck.