DEC-JAN: Lucky Food 2016 Mail

People around the world celebrate the new year with lucky foods.

Many people relate lucky food to coins or wealth, which may be the case for the cooked greens and hoppin' john of the American South -- the main ingredients of rice and black-eyed peas originated from West Africa tradition, but are ever incorporated into new variations, like this fancy one from a Chicago-to-New Orleans chef OR this one with turkey thighs OR this one for folks who want to avoid meat but not avoid swear words. Beans and legumes are popular in many other areas of the world, including Japan, Italy and Brazil.

The American South was not the only place to venerate the pig as a lucky New Year's symbol -- Eastern and Central Europe have many pork traditions, which folklorists link to the habit of the pig rooting forward in the manner that the farmers looked forward to the New Year and its harvest. Or perhaps it was that midwinter was the ideal time for pig butchering. Pork and sauerkraut (seen to perhaps symbolize money) continues to be a popular dish in areas of the United States settled by Germans and Eastern Europeans, as are pork and rice-stuffed cabbage rolls. There are also pig traditions in Spain, Portugal, Cuba, and parts of Italy and Hungary, and marzipan pigs (mmm ... marzipan) in Austria. Pork sausage and lentils from Italy recipe here.

Long-life noodles are eaten in China, Taiwan, Japan, and in the Chinese "diaspora" of immigration throughout the world. Here is a very simple recipe for the Japanese "between years" soba noodles to help you make the successful transition to 2016 and here is an interesting collection of Chinese recipes and links to Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean and Taiwanese recipes -- mmm, steam buns and dumplings ... can't wait for lunar New Year ...

Fish are also lucky for the New Year -- and widely available in Northern Europe in the winter. In the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest of the United States, where I live, you can find pickled herring in many supermarkets ... I would rather eat kimchi and squid than pickled herring, but I have friends and family members who adore it, and also Norwegian dishes such as lutefisk (fish cured in lye), and another Norwegian dish known as "rotten trout"! Church and social club fundraisers known as lutefisk dinners are popular around this time of year in some more traditional areas of the Upper Midwest, and you occasionally can find me putting mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce on my lutefisk -- lefse on the side. Here is a fish dish to my liking -- buttermilk salmon -- that would suit a Swedish or Danish New Year's table, perhaps?

Need more inspiration?

A Korean New Year's Feast of recipes -- don't forget the Tteokguk!

Historical recipes from the United States for New Year -- cake!

Epicurious' New Years recipes rundown

If you want a table groaning with food, here is a list of Filipino New Year's recipes -- don't leave out the pancit or lumpia, please!

The Smithsonian Institution chats about New Year's foods ..

If you are not a foodie, there is always the tradition of twelve grapes for the twelve strokes of midnight and also, champagne :)

Here's the actual swap: make, buy, or borrow a lucky New Year's food, try it, and send a postcard, letter, or other mail-based item expressing your New Year's Food experience to one partner -- you can write a long letter or write few words but make a gorgeous postcard, or send photos and a recipe, but do put a bit of effort into the communication piece of the swap.

Open to all members in good standing. Please post recipe links below -- I have left out all the cookies and cakes! We'd also love to hear about your family New Year food traditions, new and old.