Recipe for January. Well, Evening of December 31st to Be Exact.

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Every month we will feature a recipe from our Almanac No. 1. January’s is a soup of magic and good fortune to be made for your New Year!
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Black-Eyed Pea and Collard Green Stew

My grandmother would fix two special things for our dinner every New Year’s Eve: collared greens and black eyed peas. And every year they were terrible. We would yell and complain and she would retort that at least one bite must be taken for wealth and good fortune finding us in our year to come. I’m from Kansas, but I believe this is a southern tradition. Apparently it dates all the way back to the Civil War.

I’ve wanted to keep the tradition alive, but make sure the food was not only palpable, but delicious. I present to you a wonderful recipe, “Black-eyed pea and collared green stew”.
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May your new year be blessed with wealth and good fortune. At least you’ll start it with a great meal.

2 Cups dried black-eyed peas

1 Tbs. canola oil

3/4 C. finely chopped yellow onion

8 oz. kielbasa sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

4 C. chicken broth

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

1 Tbs. cider vinegar

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 bunch collard greens – chopped

1. Sort and wash peas; set Aside.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender. Add sausage; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned.

3. Stir in broth; bring to a simmer, scraping pan to loosen yummy browned bits. Stir in peas, salt, peppers, and bay leaves. Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until peas begin to soften. Uncover and cook 15 minutes or until liquid begins to thicken.

4. Stir in vinegar, tomatoes, and greens; simmer 10 minutes or until peas are tender, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves. Serve with warm cornbread drizzled with honey.

 

-Betony of Giants & Pilgrims
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Our January Almanac theme: “Begin”

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Each month as Giants & Pilgrims creates all the content and stories and art for  Almanac No. 1, a theme will be chosen that resonates with the month and the place we find ourselves in this year. For January our theme is “Begin”.
begin

January is a blank canvas. A snowy field. Untouched clay.

Now is the time to reflect and be resolute again.

The resolutions we make now guide and direct our new year.

So here’s to new beginnings.

May the fresh start find you this season.

And now

we

Begin

family

Beginning “Almanac No. 1”

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This is a project a year in the making. And one that’s close to Betony and I’s heart.

January of last year Betony and I talked about doing an art project together; one that would involve music, paintings, and anything else we felt was worth doing. What resulted was a big work we’re calling “Almanac No. 1”.

We did a successful Kickstarter in the fall and now we are releasing a monthly subscription, a series of paintings, and an album. All this will be found here in the coming months, slowly, like a good garden.

As for the publication, we are full of subscribers for the year, but plan on making this site a place to engage in the rhythms of our Almanac. As for the paintings, a full gallery will be posted in February. As for the album, we are doing pre-sales in January with a digital release January 18th!

Thank you for all of your support. We hope this art, music, and adventure enriches your whole year with the same goodness we’ve experienced in making it!

Tim Coons of

Giants & Pilgrims