Well, the family is from the south, so grew up with hamhocks and black eyed peas.....but gotta be veg, to make life easy with diverse group. And veg means NO animals, including (sob, sob) crab, or other finny friends. I'm not a strict veggie, but have players who haven't eaten flesh in 30+ years. Anyway, want the "good luck" and "long life" foods. Any ideas on making black eyed peas edible without hamhocks, anyone? Any other bright ideas?