Good Fortune Food
12/29/09
I do not normally follow a lot of ritualized traditions. However, I seem to make exceptions when it comes to food. Taste and smell are very closely connected with our memories. Having good food connected with good memories is a sentimentality that I enjoy.
A few years back, my mother started to cook corned beef and cabbage New Years Day. She claimed it was good luck. So I did some research and learned that there are many foods eaten around the globe that are suppose to bring good fortune over the new year. So why not layer our good luck with a multicultural feast between the last and the first day of each year. That way we cover all bases....just in case.
Greens are a popular good luck food in many cultures. The leaves represent paper money, in part due to their color but also due to their texture. Collards are probably the most popular but any greens will do. Cabbage falls into this same category with the representation being paper money. It is believed that the more greens one eats the greater their fortune that year. Sorry, honey, I know you're cringing right now, but maybe you can make it up in lentils......
Legumes of all varieties represent money in the form of coin. The most mentioned in New Year's lore are black eyed peas and lentils. I love both, how lucky for me!
Pigs or pork is popular around the globe. It represents progress because pigs always root forward. Avoid things that move backwards like lobster. Chickens scratch backwards and should be avoided as well.
Pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries and represent abundance and fertility. Hhmmmm....guess I'll be adding that to my plate.
In many asian countries, eating long noodles without breaking them represents having a long life so add some udon to your soup, or add it as a side this New Years.
Many places in North America, Asia and Europe eat fish for the New Year. Fish swim forward therefore represent progress as in the pigs. They also swim in schools representing abundance.
In Spain and other spanish speaking countries, 12 grapes are eaten at the stroke of midnight, one for each month of the year and for each stroke of the clock. In 1909, this practice was initiated to help alleviate a grape surplus in the Alicante region of Spain. They celebrate the coming of a sweet year.
So what will we eat in our house? We will start off with a lentil and black eyed pea dip. I will make salmon with greens for New Year's Eve and sprinkle them with pomegranate. We will have 12 grapes at midnight with our champaign. On New Years Day, lunch will consist of corned beef and cabbage with a salad made from black eyed peas. So what am I missing? Ah the noodles....maybe a simple miso soup with noodles to end our day with some quiet reflection of what to do with all our good fortune to come in 2010.
Cheers! Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous 2010.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A few years back, my mother started to cook corned beef and cabbage New Years Day. She claimed it was good luck. So I did some research and learned that there are many foods eaten around the globe that are suppose to bring good fortune over the new year. So why not layer our good luck with a multicultural feast between the last and the first day of each year. That way we cover all bases....just in case.
Greens are a popular good luck food in many cultures. The leaves represent paper money, in part due to their color but also due to their texture. Collards are probably the most popular but any greens will do. Cabbage falls into this same category with the representation being paper money. It is believed that the more greens one eats the greater their fortune that year. Sorry, honey, I know you're cringing right now, but maybe you can make it up in lentils......
Legumes of all varieties represent money in the form of coin. The most mentioned in New Year's lore are black eyed peas and lentils. I love both, how lucky for me!
Pigs or pork is popular around the globe. It represents progress because pigs always root forward. Avoid things that move backwards like lobster. Chickens scratch backwards and should be avoided as well.
Pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries and represent abundance and fertility. Hhmmmm....guess I'll be adding that to my plate.
In many asian countries, eating long noodles without breaking them represents having a long life so add some udon to your soup, or add it as a side this New Years.
Many places in North America, Asia and Europe eat fish for the New Year. Fish swim forward therefore represent progress as in the pigs. They also swim in schools representing abundance.
In Spain and other spanish speaking countries, 12 grapes are eaten at the stroke of midnight, one for each month of the year and for each stroke of the clock. In 1909, this practice was initiated to help alleviate a grape surplus in the Alicante region of Spain. They celebrate the coming of a sweet year.
So what will we eat in our house? We will start off with a lentil and black eyed pea dip. I will make salmon with greens for New Year's Eve and sprinkle them with pomegranate. We will have 12 grapes at midnight with our champaign. On New Years Day, lunch will consist of corned beef and cabbage with a salad made from black eyed peas. So what am I missing? Ah the noodles....maybe a simple miso soup with noodles to end our day with some quiet reflection of what to do with all our good fortune to come in 2010.
Cheers! Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous 2010.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
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