Black Eyed Peas & Cabbage

They say for luck and prosperity you should eat black eyed peas and cabbage on New Year's Day.  I wasn't leaving anything to chance, so I definitely focused meal time around these 2 vegetables.  First up was a Portuguese Soup with kidney beans, potatoes and cabbage.  I had made a large pot of this soup about a month ago and froze half to eat for this special occasion.  This is a recipe my Mom found in the Austin American Statesman after eating it at a restaurant in the area.  The restaurant would not reveal the recipe so my Mom was ecstatic to spot it in the paper.  She clipped it out and we have been making it for years.  I have changed up the recipe a little substituting veggie broth for beef broth and eliminating the sausage.  This soup is delicious, the broth is souper flavorful!

After the soup, we chowed on some spiced up black eyed peas.  I used a recipe I found in a Moosewood Restaurant cook book called Indian Skillet Black Eyed Peas.

After dinner we all piled on the couch and watched Eat, Pray, Love, ate popcorn and opened a bottle of wine (Max had water)!  Another relaxing evening on the couch....getting up for work on Monday is going to be torture.