Recipe Test: Hoppin' John

Credit:  closetcooking.com

Click here for full recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Onion
• Celery
• Green Pepper
• Garlic
• Black-eyed peas
• Broth (ham or chicken)
• Ham hock or cubed ham
• Bay leaf
• Thyme
• Cayenne
• Salt & Pepper
• Green onions

This was one of the first meals I made after getting back from my business trip.  Hubby was sick as a dog so I tried to load up on what I thought would be some 'comfort food' but also lots of good nutrition.  This seemed to fit the bill in my book and looked yummy!

During preparation ... I'm still in love with my huge cast iron skillet by the way.  

Collard Greens to mix in later for extra veggie goodness!

The final product!  YUM! 

Now I love my Hubby but when he is sick he is THE BIGGEST WHINY BABY EVER!  Case in point? He loves ham.  He has loved ham since I met him.  I remember the early years of living together ... this self-proclaimed "recovering Catholic" who could care less about any religious holiday would go NUTS at Easter ... not for the holiday ... for the HAM!  He had to have his honey baked spiral ham.  One big ham for two people?  Too much food.   Now add that I'm not a huge fan - it's so salty to me and though I'm a born & bred Iowa girl (yes we love our pork in Iowa) I'm 1/2 Jewish and the whole 'pork is bad' thing did seep into my consciousness to a point.  Okay not enough that I don't LOVE bacon... oh and fried pork tenderloin sandwiches ... okay fine and breakfast sausage ... but otherwise pork chops, ham and pretty much every other type of pork product - no thankee!  So anyway point being I KNOW he likes ham.  This is a FACT in my world.

So ... as I'm cooking and he comes to see what's for dinner.  Complaining that he is hungry he goes to the cabinets and finds a can of pureed butternut squash.  He proceeds to ask me to make him soup from it.  I sweetly say "honey ... that's not soup, that's just pureed squash.  Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes."

.. then he says "I know it isn't soup - but look there is a recipe on it and we have everything you'd need to make it ..." showing me the can.   I look at the recipe ... one that would take about 1/2 hour to prepare!  The self talk begins ... and in my head I say "stay calm he's sick..."  to him I say in my fake sweet voice.  "oh but this will take longer to make than dinner - dinner is almost done."

So then he looks at what is for dinner ... and he sees ham and starts to protest.  By this time the fake sweet voice & patience is not holding steady ...  Get this ... he actually said he wouldn't eat it because he "DOESN'T EAT HAM" ... since f*@%ing when?!   Yes I started to argue but he was sick so I caved and said - I have bacon ... what if I use bacon in yours instead?

Hubby's response ... BIG sigh ... "okay" ... shuffle back downstairs to lay on couch as he coughs.

So I made a special one where I picked out every piece of ham and substituted nice crispy yummy bacon.   Here is his special version that I took down to him and presented ...

... to which he said "I don't want anything."   

I'M SORRY ... WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!  (forget fake sweet voice ... now about to kill my beloved hubby)

"I don't want anything ... I'm not hungry.  I told you I didn't want anything."

Yes ... at this point dear reader I did lose my shit!   YOU NEVER SAID THAT!  YOU WERE BITCHING ABOUT BEING HUNGRY AND WANTING SOUP!  .... and at that I will refrain from letting you know just the extent of my freak out but you can imagine.  

Did he ever eat it?  Nope!  He refused to touch it and didn't touch ANY of the leftovers!  So part of the reason I haven't been blogging lately is indeed that I've been sick ... but also b/c I haven't been cooking because I had to eat HOPPIN F*ing JOHN ALL WEEK LONG so it wouldn't go bad.  

The FINAL bowl after many many meals of Hoppin' John.   Still yummy but I wont' be making again because I'M SICK OF IT!!