Coconut Oil New Year's Recipes

There is a Southern tradition to have greens and black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. During the war between the northern and southern states well over a hundred years ago, the Union officers would raid homes and take the food they wanted, so the story goes, and leave "worthless" food such black-eyed peas and collard greens. Since then a New Year's meal with black-eyed peas represents coins and the greens represent dollars--prosperity wished for the new year, and remembrance of that war.

So to all who read this blog, happy 2010 and here are my adapted recipes for January 1, 2011. I put coconut oil in the recipes.

Hoppin' Black-Eyes Peas

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup chopped smoked ham
1 medium onion, chopped
24 oz. (2 containers) of Marjon Quick Cook Blackeye Peas
one 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
one 15 oz. can whole corn kernels, undrained
one tablespoon of sugar

Saute ham and onion in coconut oil. Add other ingredients and cover, reducing heat. Cook at least 15 minutes, stirring occastionally. Serve over Garlic Baked Grits.

Garlic Baked Grits, adapted from JM

1 cup uncooked grits

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

6 oz. pasturized process cheese food with garlic, cubed

1 tablespoon Emeril's'Original Essence or dash of garlic salt
Cook grits in water according to package diections. Stir small amount of hot grits into eggs; add egg mixture to remainder of grits. Stir in butter, coconut oil, cheese and seasonng. Spoon mixture into a greased 2 quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Hot Wilted Greens adapted from www.seasonalchef.com/greens.htm

3 pieces of bacon

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon Emeril's Original Essence or one large clove garlic, minced

1 medium sweet red onion, chopped

3 tablespoons chicken broth or stock

2 tablespoons balsamic winegar

16 oz. washed mustard greens*

1/4 cup toasted almonds or pecans

Cook bacon until crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels. Crumble and reserve. Add coconut oil, seasoning and onions to bacon drippings and heat until onions are softened. Stir in chicken stock and vinegar. Add greens and mix, stir-frying until the leaves are coated. Cover and cook until the leaves are wilted. Top with crumbled bacon and chopped nuts.

*Note: you can use collards, arugula or endive instead of mustard greens. My husband doesn't like collards and I'm not quite used to them.

Fading Memories

• Names of family my husband will see this Christmas are hard for him to recall.
• A young lady in our church delivered her first born several weeks ago. That infant was being held nearby. My husband asked when the baby was due.
• He keeps accusing me of moving the laundry basket from the laundry room back to the bedroom before I have laundered the clothes. The real truth is that laundry basket fills up again.
• The first Christmas party we hosted when it came time for him to pray he mentioned "Thanksgiving". I wondered what the guests thought.
• He does try to compensate. For our neighborhood Christmas party I made him an index card with names of neighbors. He likes those index cards that keep him informed.
• Can he find the car when he goes on an errand by himself? When I asked him this, he said that he forgets to think about it when he parks the car and sometimes has to look around. Fortunately his SUV sticks out. About six months before he retired he had trouble finding his car after work and I was summoned by cell phone to help him.

Husband Gets the Global Navigational System

Friday--GNS is programmed for hubby. When he leaves the house, he says "Okay, where am I going again?" He calls on the way and asks what is he doing?

"Practice run, sweetheart," I say.

He comes back to the house and we try it again. It works this time! He makes it to downtown Plant City and home again quite proud of himself. He loves this device. We call the lady who speaks on the GNS "Miss Garmin".

Monday, three days later. I will be gone all day and not able to media mail a book at the post office. I arrange for him to do this. He had forgotten when I called at noon. He is able to make it to the post office and back home. This time he only has to call my cell once.

Tuesday. The lawn repair shop calls while I am gone. It is complicated to get there and back. My sweetheart hitches up the trailer and uses "Miss Garmin" to go get it and return home. I call him during the day and he doesn't mention that he has retrieved the riding lawn mower. When I return home the front lawn has been mowed!