The last day of 2025!
It’s been a year… hoo boy, has it ever!
Let’s hope 2026 is a better year for all of us!
Now the ‘important’ part is the food tomorrow night. The following depends on where you are in the world…
Southern US
- Black-Eyed Peas: Represent coins and abundance. Alternate is Hoppin’ John which is a combination of black-eyed peas, rice, and ham plus spices.
- Collard Greens: Symbolize cash and financial prosperity.
- Cornbread: Represents gold.
- Pork: Symbolizes progress.
Asian Traditions
- Long Noodles: Represent longevity; should not be broken.
- Dumplings: Shaped like ancient Chinese gold/silver ingots to represent wealth.
- Fish (Whole): Symbolizes surplus and abundance.
- Rice Cakes (Nian Gao/Ozoni): Represent prosperity, progress, and improvement.
- Spring Rolls: Symbolize wealth.
Global Traditions
- Pork/Sauerkraut: Common in German and Eastern European traditions for good luck and progress.
- Grapes: In Spain, eating 12 grapes at midnight represents 12 lucky months.
- Lentils: Popular in Italy as they resemble coins.
- Ring-Shaped Cakes: Doughnuts or bundt cakes are often served to symbolize coming full circle.
This is the Southern Living recipe for Hoppin’ John from HERE. It will feed quite a few folks…
Ingredients
- 6 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped
- 4 celery stalks, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped (about 1 Tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 8 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
- 4 cups fresh or frozen black-eyed peas
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked Carolina Gold rice
- Fresh scallions, sliced
However you choose, enjoy the evening and ring in the new year!!!
I went in to have some blood drawn yesterday. The Phlebby-tech told me that their family tradition involved eating 12 grapes while under the table and asked if I knew about the tradition.
Being a smart-aleck, I replied that there was a similar tradition in my family but it involved fermented grape juice consumed before ending up beneath the table.
That got a laugh out of her.
I’ll skip most of those. And try to skip a couple… BUT.. I do plan on making my first food of the New Year at least a bit of pickled herring. To me, that’s the palatable choice. Oh, alright, cornbread would be really good.
I thought 2025 was pretty good (prices went down, illegal immigrants went down, exploding drug dealers went up) except for not enjoying my teaching job anymore (high school math) after over 20 years. First time I’ve really thought that I don’t want to do it any more. Hopefully that’s change.
That Hoppin’ John looks good. I’ll have to try it, but not tonight cause I’m at friends’ and they are cooking. No idea what we’re having but it probably isn’t a tradition.
I love collard greens. My biggest disappointment in Texas this past summer was that 2/3 BBQ places that I went to didn’t offer them as a side.
Sauerkraut & kielbasa or franks & beans. Either way lends a distinctive ambiance to the new year.
Elk steaks and trout.
In the hills of East Tennessee, it’s black eyed peas, spinach, and hog jowl for prosperity and good fortune. My great aunt would say you’d get a dollar for every black eyed pea you ate (which was a lot of money in the Depression, and to a 5 year old in the early 60s). The hog jowl was hard to take though, all fat as I remember.
ERJ- Snort… 🙂
Orvan- Do whatever works for you!
Hereso- Yeah, I’ve noticed that too! Grumble…
McC- Ah… yeah…
WSF- Oh, NICE!
Mike- Yeah, jowls are a ‘bit’ rough to eat.
Happy 2025, Old NFO. Fair winds and following seas through 2026.
Well, have a Merry New Year. However it turns out (2026), sure can not stop it for happening. Just hope it is better than the last 6 years. Do you know where Santa Clause keeps his money?……..At the snow bank.
Last one for the year.
LL- Same to you, my friend!
Heltau- Snort…good one!