“Hoppin-john-bowl” by Srjenkins – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons
The origins of the name are uncertain; one possibility is that the name is a corruption of the Haitian Creole term for black-eyed peas: pois pigeons(pronounced: [pwapiˈʒɔ̃]).
The Oxford English Dictionary’s first reference to the dish is from Frederick Law Olmsted‘s 19th century travelogue, A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States(1861).[7] However, a recipe for “Hopping John” in The Carolina Housewife by Sarah Rutledge,[8] which was published in 1847, is also cited as the earliest reference.[9] An even earlier source is Recollections of a Southern Matron,[10]which mentions “Hopping John” (defined, in a note, as “bacon and rice”) as early as 1838.[11]
Hoppin’ John was originally a Low Country food before spreading to the entire population of the South. Hoppin’ John may have evolved from rice and bean mixtures that were the subsistence of enslaved West Africans en route to the Americas.[12] Hoppin’ John has been further traced to similar foods in West Africa,[9] in particular the Senegalese dish,thiebou niebe.[13]
One tradition common in the U.S. is that each person at the meal should leave three peas on their plate to ensure that the New Year will be filled with luck, fortune and romance. Another tradition holds that counting the number of peas in a serving predicts the amount of luck (or wealth) that the diner will have in the coming year. On Sapelo Island in the community of Hog Hammock, Geechee red peas are used instead of black-eyed peas. Sea Island red peas are similar.[14]
for MoonPies when he asked a Kentucky coal miner what kind of snack he would like to eat, and the miner requested something with graham cracker and marshmallow which had been dipped in chocolate. When Mitchell’s father asked how big it should be, the miner looked up in the night sky and framed the full moon with his hands.
grandmother she decided to make Easter dinner. She had not done it in years but this time she was determined to do so. My grandmother prepared all the desserts she helped influence as her grandchildren’s favorites such as German Chocolate, Red Velvet, poundcake, sweet potato pie and of course strawberry cake on this last holiday with her. Thus, Strawberry Cake has an affectionate place in my heart. She would use a box cake mix and always add this or that. 
It would take the Academy Award Winner and Comedian Mo’Nique to have a cookbook which includes in the title, “Skinny”, affectionately about the people who are butt of her jokes.- MCCN Editor
