Mitchell Savage

How long does a “new” year last before it is simply “this year?”

A month?  A few weeks?

Or is it measured by the duration of our adherence to our resolutions?

Whichever…  2010 is a compelling and fascinating year for me because of the immense milestones in my business, family, and personal life.  To be blunt, part of 2009 was the pits.  And in just the passage of this many days, every aspect of my world has landed on a set of happy outcomes I could never have predicted.

This realization made me wonder what I might even resolve to do or change this year.  I’m far from perfect, but I have so much to say ‘Grace’ over.  With so much going right, it seems more fitting for me to reflect on how fortunate I am, rather than to presume even more.

As a small thanks to all of my family, friends, and colleagues who contributed to my evolution this year, I’m sharing a custom from ‘back home’ in Oklahoma.  On new year’s day, it is absolutely requisite that you eat black eyed peas for good luck in the coming year.  No thoughtful person of middle-American origin would conceive of missing this superstitious act.

So here’s to hoping that 2010 is your best yet, and a recipe for luck that cannot be beat.

SPICEY BLACK-EYED PEAS

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 stick of celery, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 large cans cooked black-eyed peas

1 can diced tomatoes

1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Cayenne pepper, black pepper, and Liquid Smoke to taste

In a soup pot, sautee onion, celery, and pepper in olive oil until barely softened.  Add garlic and cook uncovered for two minutes.  Add all remaining ingredients except Liquid Smoke and cook for 30 minutes.  Add Liquid Smoke, mix and cook another five minutes.  Serve with cooked rice.

Happy New Year!  Wishing you the best in 2010.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 1st, 2010 at 1:34 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.