The Cook is in da house!

For those who don't know me, I work in a residence that serves 24 hour support for individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses. I work days, mostly, including weekends. For the most part, it's like a boarding house. Folks have their own room, and can have a coffee-maker, and/or microwave, refrigerator, etc. Additionally there is a kitchen in the house with all the usual equipment, and folks are free to eat, cook etc in the kitchen as well. Weekends are usually less hectic, no appointments or jobs etc, so I like to cook a "House Lunch" on the weekends that I work. The clients know by now that when I'm cooking lunch, it will most likely be something they've never tried before! In the past, I've made vegetarian chili, quesadillas, black bean soup.. We have some folks here with significant health issues, (high blood pressure, diabetes, gluten intolerance to name just a few) so I'm always mindful of those issues. I have to say, so far everything I've served has been very well received, and I'm lucky, because there are no picky eaters here! So, for this lunch, I made "Buffalo Drumsticks" (legs were cheaper than wings..), Hoppin' John Salad, Celery sticks with ranch and blue cheese dressing; for dessert, fresh pineapple and low-fat strawberry yogurt. Thom grilled the legs the night before, so all I had to do was make the buffalo sauce, using Frank's Hot Sauce, and Smart Balance Margarine. The Hoppin' John Salad is my take on several different recipes I found online!

Hoppin' John is a traditional recipe that originated in the American South. I'm not too sure of the origins of the name, but I do know that as a hot bean dish, Hoppin' John is traditionally served on New Year's Day, to bring good luck. This is a cold salad version; I like it, because it's not your typical bean salad, that usually has a sweet/tart dressing.

Hoppin' John Salad (8 servings, easily doubled, best the next day!)

Ingredients:

2 (15.5 ounce) cans black-eyed peas (You can use dried, it's cheaper!) 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped 1/2 red onion, diced 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (don't worry, this doesn't make it hot)

1 stalk celery, chopped 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley, but I prefer cilantro) 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	In a medium bowl, toss together black-eyed peas, tomato, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, celery, and parsley.
2.	In a small bowl, mix balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss into the vegetables. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.

Nutrition Information Servings Per Recipe: 8 Calories: 132

Amount Per Serving Total Fat: 4.1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 478mg

Amount Per Serving Total Carbs: 19g Dietary Fiber: 4.6g Protein: 5.8g