Hanging Rock Hoppin' John

Happy New Year!!! Is it not amazing that we are now in 2012? I don’t write as many checks as I used to, but we will see how long it takes me to automatically write 2012. I am sure it will take a few tries. It has been a wonderful Christmas and it will end this week for us with a Twelfth Night Luncheon and Epiphany staff party. The Christmas decorations will all be packed back up in boxes and the house will seem naked. I love having all the "fluff" out, but there is something about stripping away all of the Christmas clutter and having the bareness back that is calming. At first, it seems rather stark, but then it feels REALLY good. New Year’s is like that too for me. It is a fresh start. A chance to clear out all the "fluff" and decide what you want to have in your life…even if the resolution is short-lived…it is an attempt to do better and to set some new goals. This year on New Year’s Eve day…we went hiking. We packed a yummy picnic and headed for Hanging Rock State Park. The weather was spectacular and the perfect temperature for our hike. It was a moderate hike. Certainly a lot of “stair climbing” and our quads were burning by the time we reached the top.

It is great to look out from that height. AWESOME is really the word that comes to mind. I feel this way out in nature. It puts life into a perspective that I can lose sight of in our “town” life. Looking down from that height…looking across that horizon…I truly felt like a puzzle piece. 

(Probably because we are working a jigsaw…heheee)

Looking down further on the rocks at all the people looking out across the view…it seemed we all probably share this same feeling. We all are trying to FIT into this puzzle of life. We all want to see how OUR piece fits into the big picture.

A new year, causes us to look back over time and reflect. I love the year in review pieces they do on TV, but it also marks how fleeting time really is…it causes one to pause. That is why our hike this year, just seemed to be the perfect activity for the day. It may become a new family tradition. In my mind, the hike was such a metaphor of life as we made our way up the face of this enormous rock.

Staying on the path…looking for the small markers that we were going the right way…getting tired, but continuing one step at a time…not looking ahead too far and definitely not looking back…helping each other when the going got tough…sharing water…encouraging others on the path…breathing hard and knowing it would be worth it at the top…the glorious view…feeling small yet part of something bigger…not wanting to leave the mountaintop experience…thinking the path going back down would be easier and it was just as demanding…getting back down below tree line and looking back up and feeling the accomplishment for having climbed to that height…

YES…just like life.

So my recipe for this New Year’s meal combined all of my day’s experience from this day of hiking and thinking. It takes all of the Southern tradition that MUST BE EATEN on New Year’s Day and uses a bit of my puzzle piece and rock climbing experiences to add a new twist to the dish. In the South, black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread must be the staple menu for ringing in the New Year. The peas represent prosperity as they swell when cooking and also are symbols for coins. The greens represent money, more especially paper money, the cornbread is the color of gold, and tomatoes good health. This tradition has been going on, to my knowledge, since before the Civil War and hey…we all could use a little good luck and good health!!!

I am calling this recipe…Hanging Rock Hoppin’ John. Hoppin’ John, is a traditional Southern recipe combining rice and black-eyed peas and the perfect meal for us. My version has three puzzle pieces and builds a hanging rock and the view to prosperity and health on a New Year's plate.

Hanging Rock Hoppin’ John Recipe:

4 plus servings

(Begin with the grit cakes as they need some chill time before cutting)

Grit Cakes:

4 cups water

1 tsp. of salt

2 T. of Earth Balance

1 cup stone ground grits - NOT INSTANT 

(I use stone ground yellow grits…if not available where you live…use a medium to course grind of cornmeal…yes all you grit haters it’s just a Southern polenta….)

Bring water, salt, and earth balance to a rolling boil. Slowly stream in the grits and whisk vigorously to prevent lumps.

Lower heat and simmer the grits for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep grits from sticking to the bottom of your pan. 

When the grits are cooked (thick and softened) remove from heat.

Add:

½ tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne or red pepper

½ cup veggie shreds mozzarella flavor (I used Galaxy)

¼ cup vegan cream cheese (I used Follow Your Heart)

Stir in the flavorings until the “cheese” is melted and all is thoroughly combined. Lightly spray or oil a 9X9 pan. Pour the grit mixture into the pan and shake the pan to smooth and level the surface.

Cool this for 20 minutes at room temp and then cover pan with film and chill in the refrigerator. I like to give it at least an hour or more to chill firmly for a clean edge when cutting it into cakes.

Hoppin’John:

(You can certainly cook dried black-eyed peas, but I just used canned for this as we were busy napping and doing the jigsaw puzzle :-).)

2 T. olive oil

¾ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped green pepper

2 cloves chopped garlic

Sauté the veggies over medium high heat until they are soft and translucent.

Add:

1 cup of a wild rice mix

(I used a store brand that is a blend of: basmati, brown, red, and wild rice and it is a quicker cooking time…15 to 20 minutes versus 50 to 60 minutes. Adjust the cooking time depending on the blend you use)

Coat the rice in the oil and veggies and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add:

2 cups water

1 cup chunky rotel (tomato, pepper combo)

1 veggie boullion cube

¼ tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried basil leaves (fresh is gone for the year…boo…hooo)

1 T. fresh thyme OR 1 tsp. of dried thyme leaves

(My thyme in the garden is flourishing so I used fresh, but dry is fine too. To use fresh, simply strip leaves from woody stem and chop. Measure 1 T.)

Bring all of this to a boil. Lower heat and cover.

Simmer for time suggested on your rice blend package…mine was 15 minutes. Check after timer rings and rice should be tender. There should be some liquid remaining and this will help to incorporate the rest of the ingredients.

Now add:

2 cups cooked black-eyed peas 

(or a 15.5 oz can of black-eyed peas)

Drain and Rinse the beans if using canned

Add Seasoning:

¼ cup nutritional yeast

¼ tsp. onion salt

½ cup fresh chopped parsley

Stir to combine with rice and put lid back on pan. Keep pan off the heat covered until ready to serve. Rice will get fluffier and peas continue to heat up.

(While the rice is cooking for the Hoppin’ John, start the greens)

Good Luck Greens:

(I used Red Kale, but Green is great too! I used kale because it is QUICK.)

¼ cup olive oil

1 medium onion chopped (3/4 cup approximately)

1 large clove (or 2 small) garlic minced

½ to 1 tsp. red pepper flakes depending on how spicy you like your greens.

2 bunches red kale (approximately 16 cups chopped)

½ to 1 tsp. of onion salt…your preference on saltiness

2 T. brown sugar

3 T. red wine vinegar

Wash the Kale. Strip the tough stem out of the leaves.

Chop leaves roughly.

Heat olive oil in LARGE pan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sauté chopped onion, garlic until soft…add red pepper flakes to release oils. Add washed kale…leave water on leaves to assist in cooking. It looks like a lot, but it will cook down to nothing very quickly. Stir to coat leaves in the oil and onions. Put lid on pot. Dissolve sugar and onion salt into the red wine vinegar. Once the leaves have begun wilting and there is more room to stir the kale…add the vinegar mixture. The acid will further break down the leaves. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Keep stirring. Kale leaves will be tender and yet still a dark green. Don’t cook the kale until it turns brown…just not as appetizing.

Finishing Grit Cakes:

Remove the pan of grits from the refrigerator and slice into four squares. Then cut square into a triangle by cutting from corner to corner of the square. Take the grit cake and dust with all purpose unbleached flour and season with salt and pepper.

In a non-stick skillet, heat 3 T. of olive oil. Once the oil is hot fry the grit cakes until a nice brown crust forms. Flip and brown the second side of the grit cake. Do this over medium high heat, so that the cake is heated through in middle.

(While grit cakes are browning…do a quick re-heat of the hoppin’ john if necessary, so all layers are hot when plating this Hanging Rock Hoppin’ John!)

Plating:

Place 1/3 cup of kale on the plate and make a bed…

The bedrock and tree line of the hike.

The grit cakes should be nicely browned on both sides

Now place the browned grit cake triangle(s) on top of the kale.

See the inspiration?????

Now take the Hoppin’ John rice and pea mixture and pile it over the grit cake.

Loose rocks on top of the formation....oooooo!

Finish the dish with some chopped fresh thyme and a drizzle of cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil. 

Happy, Prosperous, Healthy New Year on a plate!!!

 “Puzzle” pieces that fit together.

There is a saying in the South that goes something like this: “Eat poor on New Year’s Day, and you’ll eat rich the rest of the year.” I feel very rich eating this meal, but my hope is that these simple “poor” ingredients bring riches and peace to your year! May 2012, be a year that brings all that you need. Sometimes…all we see are separate pieces…but by placing one foot in front of the other, we climb to a place where we get a glimpse of the larger picture. May this year bring that to all of us! We each fit in a place where no else can fit…it is OUR place, OUR purpose. Trust that place. Be renewed to be where you ARE…IT IS YOUR PLACE TO BE…at least for now. 

The picture is being revealed….

….and don’t forget to enjoy the hike!!!

Thoughtful living moment today: The picture of our life is being revealed through the separate pieces of our individual experiences. Trust…

and enjoy the JOURNEY of the hike!!!