🍇 1) Grapes are eaten at midnight in many Spanish-speaking countries, one for each stroke of the clock. Sweet grapes represent good months, sour less fortunate ones.
🍲 2) Lentils are served in Italy because their abundant seeds symbolize wealth, and when cooked they plump with water to represent swelling fortunes.
🌿 3) Collards, kale, and other greens are lucky because they resemble paper money. The more you eat, the more prosperous (and healthier) you’ll become.
🍖 4) Pork is eaten in Europe and America because its fat implies richness, but in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, and Austria hogs are also a symbol of progress because they never move backward. Cookies, candies, and cakes shaped like pigs are considered lucky too.
🍜 5) Long noodles symbolize longevity in many Asian countries, and the longer the noodle the better. It’s customary to eat them on New Year’s Day, and the noodles must never be broken or shortened when cooked.
🍛 6) Black-eyed peas are served in the American South in a dish called Hoppin' John. There are some who believe in eating one pea for every day in the new year.
🌽 7) Cornbread is another Southern tradition. It’s color mimics gold, and sometimes coins are cooked into the bread, bringing additional luck to the person who finds it (without chipping a tooth).
🐟 8) Fish is a New Year’s dish in Asia, and is served with the head and tail intact to ensure a lucky year from start to finish. Similarly, in Europe and Scandinavia eating herring ensures abundance because their silvery color resembles coins.
🍩 9) Cakes, breads, and fruits in the shape of a ring or circle are good luck, and cookies shaped like coins bring prosperity to those who eat them.
AND FINALLY...
The inspiration for today's sparkling recipe...
10) Pomegranates 🍅
Pomegranates are believed to be good luck because their color mimics the human heart, their medicinal properties (think antioxidants) promote good health, and their many round arils are thought to bring prosperity.
Given this propitious list, I'm happy to share a pomegranate recipe that may or may not be lucky, but it will certainly help you ring in the new year with beautiful color and bubbly good cheer!
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Cleo Coyle writes two bestselling mystery series with her husband. To learn more, click here. |
Cleo's Simple, Sparkling
Pomegranate Prosecco Cocktail
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon pomegranate arils (to ride the pretty bubbles)
1 ounce (one part) pomegranate juice
*3 ounces (three parts) chilled Prosecco, champange, or sparkling wine
*Virgin variation: For a non-alcoholic option, simply replace the Prosecco with sparkling water, sparkling apple cider, or bubbly ginger ale.
Directions: Place the pomegranate arils at the bottom of each glass. Add the pomegranate juice, and then the cold, sparkling Prosecco (or non-alcoholic alternative). There are many bottled pomegranate juices available, or you can squeeze your juice fresh. Scroll down for more info on this process...
For great tips on cutting and de-seeding a fresh pomegranate (in just 10 seconds), watch a short video below... (if you don't see the video below, watch it by clicking here).
How to juice - You can use bottled juice or fresh in the champagne cocktail recipe. To obtain fresh juice from the pomegranate, first de-seed, and then remove any parts of visible white pith from around the seeds. Now buzz the seeds in a blender or food processor. This will release the pulp and juice from the arils around the seeds. Finally, strain the liquid well to remove the crunchy hulls. Drink with joy, and may you have a happy and healthy New Year!
1 teaspoon pomegranate arils (to ride the pretty bubbles)
1 ounce (one part) pomegranate juice
*3 ounces (three parts) chilled Prosecco, champange, or sparkling wine
*Virgin variation: For a non-alcoholic option, simply replace the Prosecco with sparkling water, sparkling apple cider, or bubbly ginger ale.
Directions: Place the pomegranate arils at the bottom of each glass. Add the pomegranate juice, and then the cold, sparkling Prosecco (or non-alcoholic alternative). There are many bottled pomegranate juices available, or you can squeeze your juice fresh. Scroll down for more info on this process...
VIDEO TIP
For great tips on cutting and de-seeding a fresh pomegranate (in just 10 seconds), watch a short video below... (if you don't see the video below, watch it by clicking here).
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How to juice - You can use bottled juice or fresh in the champagne cocktail recipe. To obtain fresh juice from the pomegranate, first de-seed, and then remove any parts of visible white pith from around the seeds. Now buzz the seeds in a blender or food processor. This will release the pulp and juice from the arils around the seeds. Finally, strain the liquid well to remove the crunchy hulls. Drink with joy, and may you have a happy and healthy New Year!
👇
