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Monday, January 3, 2011

First Bit of Luck for the New Year

On New Year's morn, I cooked up some lentils. I got a little nervous. Later, I asked Frugal Son if it HAD to be black-eyed peas for the new year or would lentils suffice? Black-eyed peas, he averred.

I never ate the things before I moved to the South. I think the black-eyed peas are optional anywhere else, but I did not want to bring the bad karma down on me. We need that gris-gris.

Our first dinner was traditional: black-eyed peas, greens (still from the garden!), a little bacon. I think rice is traditional, but I made mashed potatoes anyway because I love them.

Next day: Miss Em inserts DVD into drive on our Mac. Mac goes crazy. This happened before. The nice people at Best Buy removed the DVD at no charge and we forgot about the problem.

Mr. FS very gloomy: We need to get this fixed. It will cost hundreds of dollars. Me: gloomy too.

Sunday at noon: Mr. FS sets out on the sad journey to Best Buy. Guess what? Our Mac is under warranty for SEVEN MORE DAYS.

MORAL: Eat your black-eyed peas. Eat your greens. No matter how you cook this traditional fare, it will be frugal. And what could be more frugal than good luck?

The best Louisiana cookbooks are the ones put together by the various service organizations around the state.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

;)
I celebrate Chinese New Year religiously (despite not having a single drop of Chinese blood in my veins) because I find that when I follow the rituals the next year is a very good one-much better than when I didn't. I don't ask why this is anymore: I just do it! ;)
In case you are interested, the year of the rabbit starts on Feb 3rd!

Anonymous said...

Ach! We have yet to eat our black-eyed peas! I favor a salad made of these tasteful little beans. You were LUCKY with the Mac!

Funny about Money said...

Wow! Those black-eyed peas are powerful medicine!

Duchesse said...

Whew! And Happy New Year! I didn't know that tradition, thanks!

Frugal Scholar said...

@Marcela--I need all the luck I can get, so I will adopt Chinese customs as of Feb 3. Thanks.

@Terri--I think it's ok to be late on the peas: just make sure you eat them! Soon!

@Funny--I don't know it you need to eat them in Arizona, but it can't hurt.

@Duchesse--Try them. They're good.

Unknown said...

Here are some great ideas to celebrate CNY: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/

Frugal Scholar said...

@Marcela--Thanks so much! the traditions look great!