On New Year’s Day I cooked a big crock pot of black eyed peas.

The tradition of eating black eyed peas to bring prosperity in the New Year is well-known in the Southern United States. A quick Google search tells me that it is an international tradition. Some trace its roots to the Middle East and others to Africa.

I’m not superstitious about good luck practices – I just like black eyed peas. Since they are beneficial for Type As and Type Os, I cook them often. A holiday with a beneficial traditional food is certainly worth preserving.

I’ve never liked the Southern way of cooking black eyed peas. Even before I knew anything about nutrition, much less the Blood Type Diet, I winced at finding a chunk of pork fat in my peas. I cook them simply in the crock pot with a large chopped onion and two minced cloves of garlic.

The day after New Year’s I cooked Kasha. Buckwheat is beneficial for Type As and beneficial for Hunters, so it is a good grain choice for our household. I had never eaten buckwheat before the BTD. The first time I read the instructions I knew my family would not like it cooked soft like a cereal. The more appetizing instructions for making Kasha sounded complicated. It turned out to be remarkably easy and fast. I won’t waste blog space with what is written on the back of every buckwheat package, but I will say that if you do exactly what they say to do with the egg and the butter (or oil) in the skillet, you will have a fluffy grain dish.

By then, we were two days into 2012 and I had leftovers. So I made individual casseroles: A layer of kasha, a layer of black eyed peas, a layer of chopped turkey. I put a sauce of some kind on my husband's casserole. The combined flavors of kasha and black eyed peas was very good.

The next day I made casseroles again, this time with grilled onions and canned salmon. Another winner with compliments from my husband.

While this is likely to become our own New Year’s Tradition, there is no reason why we can’t enjoy black eyed peas and kasha any time of year.