field greens and peas

johnny had been complaining about how he MUST HAVE field greens and peas for his first meal in 2008. I think we ended up having dim sum. his theory is that if you eat field greens and peas on new year's day it will provide you with good fortune for the year. there are many superstitions like this around the globe. unfortunately, i didn't know exactly what kind of dish he was talking about. in korea, we ate a porridge that had beans in it so i was assuming he was talking about a dish in particular. well, it turns out field greens and peas could be anything leafy and anything legume-like. coincidentally, one of the dinners i had planned out for this weeks menu was a lentil soup, loosely based on a few recipes i had found online. some called for ham, some called for spinach. i made one up using collard greens, smoked turkey legs, lentils, and butter beans. i cooked it in the slow cooker all friday thinking it was going to be a disaster because i totally just made up a recipe and i had never made anything like it before. well, to my pleasant surprise it turned out to be the most delicious soup i have ever made. i baked a small loaf of crusty bread and served it with the fresh local dairy butter and johnny inhaled it. he said, "this is what i wanted for new years day!" oh...
i had to take a picture of louie, who is such a mama's boy. he follows me everywhere i go - even to the bathroom. if i close the door (which for some reason i hardly do....) he busts through. i'll sit on the toilet and he will make himself comfy on the bathrug and chew on a toy or something. sometimes he'll just sit and watch me, which can get a little awkward. but he's just so cute. i happened to have the camera in the bathroom so i snapped this photo.

look at the concern on his face. he wants to know if i am O.K. i don't know why he does this but it can be annoying. but cute. sweet louie - such a good boy. such a little monster. he has a fetish for yarn now that i made the lining for my yarn basket and left it in the living room. johnny has come home to a giant sized version of cat's cradle in the living room curtesy of satan jr. but look at that face, how could you stay mad?