Dairy-Free Baked Polenta Recipe and Vegetarian Black-Eyed Peas Recipe

Happy New Year's! In preparation for my get-together this year, I was thinking about New Year's culinary traditions in America, and, really, there are only two that automatically come to mind: champagne and black-eyed peas. In the southern states, it is a tradition to serve black-eyed peas with cornbread and collard greens, so I decided to do make this dish with a little neoclassical twist.

In place of heavy, rich cornbread (although, it is good) I'm making this dairy-free Baked Polenta and serving it with Vegetarian Black-Eyed Peas and lightly sauteed or wilted greens. It's superstition that the way we bring in the New Year is the way we will live throughout the year, so why not start it out a little healthier?

Photo © 2008 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.