Hoppin' Jack and cornbread

My mom, as an Air Force brat, lived all over the US (indeed, out of the US, too) and from her time in the South, kept the tradition of eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck.

Hoppin' Jack

1/2 lb. dried black eyed peas
1 meaty ham bone or ham hock
1 Knorr chicken boullion cube
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
pepper (we like Penzey's Red and Black blend)

Cooked rice

Rinse and pick through dried black eyed peas. Place in large pot or dutch oven with ham bone/hock, boullion cube, and enough cold water to just cover the ham bone. Bring to a boil.

While beans and ham are simmering, chop veggies. Add them as you chop them, and add some pepper, too.

After about two hours, the beans will be tender and the flavor extracted from the ham. Fish out the ham bone and allow to cool before you pull off the pieces of ham and chop them. Stir in the ham pieces and taste for seasoning.

Serve over cooked rice and with cornbread on the side (I just follow the directions on the back of the cornmeal package).