December 31, 2024. I am in the middle of a 4 day fast (long story). Tomorrow, my reward will be to eat a bowl of black-eyed peas accompanied by stewed tomatoes and a hunk of cornbread. It’s a New Year’s tradition in Virginia and the rest of the South. During the “Late Unpleasantness,” when so called “Honest Abe” sent his hordes of heathen Visigoths to burn down all our houses, steal all our belongings and starve us into submission, the story goes the Yankees did not steal or burn our fields of black-eyed peas, thinking these nutritious legumes were fodder for farm animals. I can’t say I 100% believe these origins, but hey, I like the message. I like honoring my forebearers, and I love me some black-eyed peas and cornbread! Along with the stewed tomatoes, I accompany my annual tribute to my ancestors with a generous helping of Edwards ham from Surry County, Virginia.
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