Gift #599- Hoppin' John

This year, our neighbor Ellen, made us some delicious Hoppin' John for New Years Day.  We had celebrated in the past with black-eyed peas and corn bread, but this was new for us.  We learned that Hoppin' John is a New Years Eve South Carolina tradition.  There are many stories that surround it, but my favorite one involves the Gullah people.  Apparently, there was a Gullah family here on the islands back in the late 1800's.  When the wife made this dish, her husband John, always came a Hoppin'.