Hoppin' John

Before I forget, I must write down this year's version of Hoppin' John that I made on New Year's Day. It was the best I have ever made. Eating Hoppin' John on NY day is supposed to bring you good luck. Here it is:

Hoppin' John (click title for printer friendly version)

1 lb. bag black eyed peas
1/2 lb. bacon, diced
2 large onions, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. cayenne pepper
1 smoked ham hock
1 t. kosher salt, or more to taste.

Soak beans overnight in enough water to cover then by a couple inches. Drain and put in a crock pot. Brown bacon and drain off fat. Add bacon to pot, drain off grease, leaving a tablespoon in the pan. Add onions and saute until soft. Add garlic and saute further until fragrant. Don't burn it. Add to pot. Add ham hock. Add enough water to cover. Cook in crockpot on low for 10 hours, or on high for 6, skimming occasionally. Add salt at end of cooking time. Remove hock and dice up meat and add before serving, if desired. Serve over hot white rice with plenty of Frank's Hot sauce.

Posole

My friend Phil talked me into trying posole. A New Mexican native who's half Polish and half Mexican, he is a coworker that I can count on to accompany me on many an obscure shopping trip on our lunch hour. A couple weeks ago, we went to John H King Used Books in Detroit and the Mexicantown area of Detroit to go grocery shopping. We went to Honey Bee Market to get our giant white corn. This is where I got my nifty "Our Lady of Guadelupe" calendar! Phil says that posole is a traditional Christmas dish his grandma makes. I followed a recipe suggested at http://4obsessions.blogspot.com/2005/12/more-than-sum-of-its-parts.html. Here's how I made it:

Posole
1 lb. pkg giant white corn, soaked over night
8 c. water
2 lb pork tenderloin cut into 1 inch chunks
2 t dried oregano
2 chipotle in adobe sauce, cut into pieces
2 T ground cumin
2 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 T minced garlic
juice of 2 limes
1 T salt
ground pepper to taste
4 T chopped cilantro
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

Toppings (any or all of the following): more chopped cilantro, avocado chunks, grated sharp cheddar cheese
1. Drain corn and put in a crock pot. Add 8 c. water, plus pork, oregano, chipotle, cumin, onion, garlic, lime, salt and pepper. Turn heat low. Cook 8-10 hrs. covered until pork is falling apart
2. About 15 minutes before serving, add tomatoes and heat through
3. Stir in chopped cilantro just before serving. Ladle into bowls and let diners customize their bowl with the assorted toppings

Low Points Cookies

Okay, for those of us that have been on the WW points program, it can be hard to find a sweet treat that has a low "point" value. WW publishes the point value of foods, but for engineers who can't stand looking up things in a table and have an overwhelming need to describe what we do with math, we like to calculate points in our heads.

Points are calculated per serving by figuring out how many calories, grams of fat and fiber are in it. I understand the formula is patented by WW, but I have figured it out by my own personal nerdly interpolation, geek that I am. By my estimates, there's 1 point for every 50 calories, plus 1 point additional for every 12 grams of fat, minus almost 1 point per 4 grams of fiber.

I used to buy meringues at Meijer because they were a good low point option, but they stopped selling them. So I am going to try making them, based on this recipe (which I modified slightly) that I read about in the AA News this week. Six cookies would be 1 pt., by my estimates.

Chocolate Meringues
Makes 84 cookies

4 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Adjust oven racks to divide oven in thirds, then preheat to 250F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a mixer, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Beat on medium until frothy, about two minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and add sugar in a slow, steady stream. Beat egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined. Decrease speed to low and mix in cocoa until just combined.
Transfer meringue to a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch opening and without a tip. Alternatively, use a large plastic bag and cut off one corner. Onto prepared baking sheets, pipe peaked mounds about 1 inch in diameter and 11/2 inches apart. Bake for 30 minutes, then switch baking sheets from one shelf to the other. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes or until meringues are dry. Turn off oven, open it a crack and allow meringues to dry and crisp in the oven for an hour.

Approximate nutritional content per serving (2 cookies):
Calories..................................... 21
Fat........................................... 0 g
Dietary fiber............................ 0 g