The Gallinippers

We've interrupted the long drawn-out reporting of our June road trip to tell you about a more current adventure.  Remember those pesky crane flies that I told you about here and here.  It turns out they're also known as wolf mosquitoes, gollywhoppers, and gallinippers.  So, it's pretty fun and interesting that an old-time string band would call themselves The Gallinippers.  We saw them at the Wilson County Fair yesterday - a fair that did not disappoint!

The Gallinippers are purveyors of old-time music, culture, tradition and learnin', and eaters of good fine ham.  They play a variety of instruments: banjo, harmonica, kazoo, jug, uke, washboard, washtub bass, battle organ (whatever that is!), and guitar.

Howard probably paid a lot of attention to the music, while I was intrigued with the nuances of the staging, costumes, and dancing.  There was so much attention to detail.  I would love to see this thing driving down the freeway.

The young dancer was so dang cute.  In his maybe four years of life, he's already learned how to steal a heart.  I wish I had a video of his overall-clad dad and his mom who sat on the front row stomping and clapping and maybe keeping the beat for their young purveyor of old-time dancing.

Black-eyed Peas

I must have been living under a rock for the last several decades.  Yesterday, I heard for the first time ever that it's good luck to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.  It's a southern thing.

It seems that this southern tradition was a adopted from Sephardi Jews who settled in Georgia in the 1730s.  Now, isn't that surprising!?  It is "good luck" to have specific foods on your table for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.  One of the "lucky" foods is black-eyed peas.  This tradition apparently has been "a southern thing" since around the Civil War.

Next year I'm going to have to remember to make up a batch of Hoppin' John and to count the number of peas in my serving, which will predict the amount of luck (or wealth) that I will have in the coming year.  I also have to remember to leave three peas on my plate to assure that my New Year will be filled with luck, fortune, and romance.

Paula Deen, the quintessential southern cook, has a recipe for Hoppin' John that I think I'll have to try before January 1, 2013.  It looks kind of yummy, doesn't it?

Hoppin' John