I am normally a very optimistic and positive person, but I am thrilled to bid farewell to 2010. Aren’t you, too? In my own case, the financial challenge of a reduced workload has been my major preoccupation.

Fortunately, this dry spell appears to be coming to an end, as I have four—count ’em, four—job opportunities on the horizon. I am considering all possibilities, from contract assignments to full-time employment. As I explained in my post of September 22, 2009 (yes, this has been a long dry spell!), I miss the “water-cooler camaraderie” of a team environment. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve loved working on my own, lo these many years. But more and more I find myself working on projects that involve collaborating with others whose technical expertise complements my own.

My job search has warmed up, as have short-term contract assignments. It is for these reasons that my blogging habits have suffered. I introduced a Sales Training for Novices thread in October that I have yet to finish. I will; please be patient. In tomorrow’s post I’ll explain what my New Year’s resolutions are.

Meanwhile I am soaking the blackeye peas for my hoppin’ john recipe, which I’ll be making tomorrow morning for good luck. Here is the recipe, in case you want to give it a try, yourselves.

Happy new year, everyone! Welcome 2011!

This is a follow-up to my post on December 30.

This was the first year that it actually registered with me that you have to eat hoppin’ john before noon on New Year’s Day in order to ensure good fortune for the year. Well, at exactly 11:59 a.m., I was putting my first taste of hoppin’ john into my mouth. It sure tasted good … for several reasons, no doubt.

This year I made the recipe with Italian sausage for the first time—yummy. I also always use larger portions of the vegetables (onion, pepper, celery) and meat (bacon, Italian sausage) than the recipe calls for … but that’s just me. Let me know how your creation turned out.

And here’s a special dispensation for anyone reading this after the first of the year: Go ahead and make the recipe, anyway; I hereby declare that it will bring you good fortune for the rest of the year.

Bon appétit!

In this between-the-holidays time, a totally nontechnical post is called for. I enjoy experimenting with recipes—mostly easy-to-make comfort food—and this is a tradition I learned from my dear (sadly, departed) friend Gloria Faulkner. She was a Southern girl, and she enjoyed teaching this Yankee a thing or two.

It seems there is a tradition in the South of eating blackeye peas on New Year’s Day—specifically, before noon on New Year’s Day—to ensure good luck for the year. As 2008 was devastating for most of us, I plan to make a special effort to do just that.

The following is an amalgamation of various recipes for hoppin’ john, combining the best (in my opinion) of all of them. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know how it turns out for you.

Hoppin’ John

• ½ lb dry blackeye peas
• 4 slices bacon or ¼ lb Italian sausage, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• ½ cup green pepper, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 packet Sazón without Annatto
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• hot pepper sauce to taste (optional)
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup long-grain rice

The night before (i.e., on New Year’s Eve), sort and wash beans. Soak beans overnight in 4 cups water. Be sure to drain before using.

In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, crumble, and set aside. Pour 1 Tbsp bacon drippings into 6- to 8-quart pot (or use 1 Tbsp butter). Cook onion, pepper, and celery until tender. Stir in crumbled bacon, drained beans, and rest of ingredients except for the rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until beans are tender. (Add more hot water if necessary—beans should have about 2 cups of liquid when they are tender.) Stir in rice and simmer covered 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Serves 4 to 6.