I haven’t made our recipe for Hoppin’ John for a while because we have moved to becoming vegetarians. Traditional Hoppin’ John contains pork. I love pork, but there had to be a way to make a vegetarian version. Leave it to Connesserus Veg to get a solid recipe to start with. There are black eyed peas and smoky flavor in this recipe as well as the traditional vegetables. With a few adjustments, I can add in some extra vitamins. This recipe is also low fuss. Great for right now where I am now officially working six days a week due to COVID-19.

I wanted to let you know as a public health person, we are doing everything we can to help. We know the outbreak is scary and we want to help everyone so please be understanding. I’m glad I am still able to blog and show you can still eat healthy on a time crunch. However, I will say that having a partner that can pick up the slack during this time is a lifesaver. Not everyone is as lucky. BTW- If you want some good information on COVID-19 that is vetted by scientific experts that is a bit more entertaining, check out LifeApps COVID-19 page: https://lifeology.io/coronavirus-center/

Now on to the recipe. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I add three bell peppers to increase the vitamin C.
• I added a carrot to increase the vitamin A.
• I added brown rice to the calculation of the calories.
• I increased the number of servings from 6 to 8 to lower the calories.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Vegan Hoppin John

Serves 8

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pound dried black eyed peas, soaked in water 8 hours or overnight
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bunch (about 3/4 lb.) Swiss chard leaves, sliced into strips
• Cayenne pepper hot sauce, to taste
• 4 scallions chopped

1. Add brown rice and 2 cups of water to a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 45 minutes.
2. Place the olive oil in large pot and set over medium heat. Add the garlic, celery, onion, carrot and bell pepper. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the broth, black eyed peas, liquid smoke, bay leaves, thyme, smoked paprika, cayenne and black pepper. Stir a few times and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer, uncovered, until the peas are tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 50 minutes. Add a bit of water to the pot if it gets too dry.
4. Add the chard and stir a few times. Allow to simmer about 3 more minutes, until the chard leaves are wilted. Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper hot sauce to taste. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
5. Serve over rice. Top with scallions and additional hot sauce.