They make wonderful missles to throw at crows! Here are a couple of ways to cook turnips that does not involve boiling. Steam young turnips that have been peeled and sliced into 1/2" slices. Drain and season with butter, lemon juice or vinegar, and cream as for mashed potatoes. Cook young turnips as in the preceding recipe, drain and dry them well. Brown in hot melted butter, glaze with paprika and sugar. Personally I can't stand turnips--too many awful memories of the brown bombs my grandma made of turnips. She boiled them until they were brown and the whole house smelled. I must ask, and please don't be offended, but why did you plant turnips?

This is somewhat OT, but as long as we're talking about saltpeter (Potassium Nitrate): During the Civil War, the South had shortages of many items. One of the more critical ones was saltpeter, which is crucial for making gunpowder. A certain Judge John Haralson devised a way to extract potassium nitrate (also called 'nitre') from urine, and commenced upon a crusade to have the ladies of the Confederacy collect the contents of their chamber pots so they could make gunpowder. (I'm not making any of this up. Seriously.) When the word of this effort came out, there were several satirical ditties published. I have take one of the more widely circulated ones and bowdlerized it a bit to help evade the screening software, but I have no doubts that the intrepid denizens of this forum can (literally) fill in the blanks. I "Jno Haralson! Jno Haralson! We read in song and story That women's in all these years, Have sprinkled fields of glory; But never was it told before That how, midst scenes of slaughter Your Southern beauties dried their tears And went to making water. II No wonder, Jno., your boys were brave Who would not be a fighter If every time he shot his gun He used his sweetheart's nitre? And, vice verse what could make A Yankee soldier sadder Than dodging bullets fired from A pretty woman's bladder. III They say there was a subtle smell That lingered in the powder; And as the smoke grew thicker, And the din of battle grew louder That there was found in this compound This serious objection; The soldiers could not sniff it in Without getting an e________n."

It does sound lovely, except for the flat rolls, but enough mojitos and you're good, LOL. I love your description of your family, it sounds a lot like mine except we don't have a Mexican. Yet. Everyone from the college educated engineer to the police officer/firefighter to the old farmers, add a Jewish DIL on Elery's side plus his family from Tennessee and we've got a bit of everything. (grin) OK, the butterlake rolls recipe, easy as can be. Even San made a batch a few years ago and was successful and she told me she did NOT bake bread. Ever. This halves easily, I just use a whole egg, I don't try to halve it and I use all butter, no shortening. Butterflake Rolls 2 packages active dry yeast 2 cups warm water 1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp salt 6 to 6 1/2 cups flour 1 egg 1/2 cup shortening (use butter) 1/2 cup butter, softened. In mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add egg and shortening, mix well, stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Do not knead. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, punch dough down and divide into 4 portions. Roll each portion into a 14 x 12 inch rectangle, spread 2 tbls butter over dough. Fold in half lengthwise and cut into 12 strips. Tie each strip into a knot, tuck and pinch ends under. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 4 dozen And congratuations on the "grown up" dinner, it sounds perfect to me. Annie

Teresa, I found this by Googling which still doesn't fully answer your question. As I see it, it tells what it is but not where the name came from. Hoppin' John Hoppin' John is the Southern United States' version of the rice and beans dish traditional throughout West Africa. It consists of black-eyed peas (or field peas) and rice, with chopped onion and sliced bacon, seasoned with a bit of salt.[1] Some people substitute ham hock or fatback for the conventional bacon; a few use green peppers or vinegar and spices. Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are used in the Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia; black-eyed peas are the norm elsewhere. Customs Throughout the coastal South, eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck.[2][3] The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins, and a coin is sometimes added to the pot or left under the dinner bowls.[4] Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, chard, kale, cabbage etc. along with this dish are supposed to also add to the wealth since they are the color of money.[5] Another traditional food, cornbread, can also be served to represent wealth -- being the color of gold. On the day after New Year's Day, leftover "Hoppin' John" is called "Skippin' Jenny," and further demonstrates one's frugality, bringing a hope for an even better chance of prosperity in the New Year.[6][7] During the late Middle Ages, there was a tradition of eating beans on New Year's Day for good luck in parts of France and Spain. The European tradition mixed with an African food item to become a New World tradition. One tradition common in the Southern USA is that each person at the meal should leave three peas on their plate to assure that the New Year will be filled with Luck, Fortune and Romance. Another tradition holds that counting the number of peas in a serving predicts the amount of luck (or wealth) that the diner will have in the coming year. Eat poor that day, eat rich the rest of the year. Rice for riches and peas for peace. - Southern saying on eating a dish of Hoppin' John on New Year's Day. Hoppin' John is found in most states of the South, but it is mainly associated with the Carolinas. Gullah or Low Country cuisine reflects the cooking of the Carolinas, especially the Sea islands (a cluster of islands stretching along the coats of south Carolina and northern Georgia). Black-eyed peas, also called cow peas, are thought to have been introduced to America by African slaves who worked the rice plantations. Hoppin' John is a rich bean dish made of black-eyed peas simmered with spicy sausages, ham hocks, or fat pork, rice, and tomato sauce. This African-American dish is traditionally a high point of New Year's Day, when a shiny dime is often buried among the black-eyed peas before serving. whoever get the coin in his or her portion is assured good luck throughout the year. For maximum good luck in the new year, the first thing that should be eaten on New year's Day is Hoppin' John. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, many southern families toast each other with Champagne and a bowl of Hoppin' John. If it is served with collard greens you might, or might not, get rich during the coming year. There are many variations to traditional Hoppin' John. Some cook the peas and rice in one pot, while others insist on simmering them separately. Teresa,this better explains the name and I choose the last one about the crippled blackman. Just makes sense. The first written recipe for Hoppin John appeared in The Carolina Housewife in 1847. Most food historians generally agree that Hoppin John is an American dish with African/French/Caribbean roots. There are many tales or legends that explain how Hoppin' John got its name: It was the custom for children to gather in the dining room as the dish was brought forth and hop around the table before sitting down to eat. A man named John came "a-hoppin" when his wife took the dish from the stove. An obscure South Carolina custom was inviting a guest to eat by saying, "Hop in, John" The dish goes back at least as far as 1841, when, according to tradition, it was hawked in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina by a crippled black man who was know as Hoppin' John. jude