Today's burning question... You're supposed to eat 365 black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck, but how many cups is that? The answer in just a moment.
First, a quick sleep deprivation tally... I mean, holiday recap...
I hope you and yours had a lovely New Year's Eve!
We had small and quiet celebration with family. Perfect! After a meal of homemade clam chowder and fresh-baked bread, we did a little driving around to look at Christmas lights. Once home again, we settled in to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Eli was delighted with Chevy Chase's slapstick and my brother knows the movie so well that he was able to either cough or talk over the bad words so Eli wouldn't learn anything new! By the time the movie was over, Eli was already an hour past his usual 8PM bedtime.
"I can stay up 'til midnight! Right, Mama?"
"As long as you're in a good mood."
Since Eli just turned five, Brian and I agreed to let him try.
We popped in a new DVD and started in on a long string of Mr Bean episodes. There was some yawning and slumping, but then Bean wrecked his tiny car and sent a tire bouncing up the road. Hilarious! That brought a second wind, Eli sitting up and wiggling again. But even if his eyes were wide open, he jumped at small noises and was slow on the uptake when it came to laughs. He wilted back to horizontal on the futon. His head crept into my lap for a head rub. Zzzzzzz. 11:09 PM.
Eli was so rubbery and dead to the world that it took both Brian and I to finish getting him ready for bed. As I cradled my boy in my arms and carried him from the bathroom into his bedroom, his eyes never opened but he suddenly broke into a sunny smile and started laughing in his sleep. Yup. 2014 is going to be a great year.
So how long did Eli sleep in this morning? He's usually up at 6:30 AM but today it was all of 6:40 before he appeared at my side of the bed. Ten whole extra minutes! Waiting for the crankies to hit. In the meantime, we've got our traditional southern Hoppin' John in progress. The lovely feeling of peas rolling in your fingers as you put them in to soak overnight...
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the rice for Hoppin' John. Emeril Lagasse's recipe on the food network is fairly typical where you cook the peas and then serve them over steamed or plain-cooked rice. (Click HERE for that recipe.) My friend Paula makes oh-so-yummier rice by starting it in the bacon grease that was been used to brown the onions. I'm going to shoot for the latter, but if I have a super-grumpy kiddo at dinnertime, I'm pulling out the rice cooker!
And the answer about the volume of peas needed to make 365 and bring you a year's worth of good luck? I counted out a few and then used my electronic kitchen scale to estimate the rest. Once they are cooked and fully plump, you'll need to eat about one and a fourth cups.
Happy 2014!
Year-old Eli as Baby New Year back in 2010...
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