Hoppin’ John

Black-eye or black-eyed peas seem to figure ubiquitously on Southern tables, and Yankee visitors seem to look at them askance. They are not necessarily country fare, as many people claim them to be. They appear on the tables of rich and poor, the educated and uneducated alike, and are eaten with equal enthusiasm. They are a basis of the dish known as Hoppin’ John, the origin of which name no one seems to be able to explain. The dish is made with either black-eyed peas or cow peas and rice,