Fresh from the Towles farm in Edisto: Collard greens, spring onions, broccolini, baby beets, cauliflower, Cherry Belle radishes and cilantro—plus black-eyed peas from Marsh Hen Mill to ring in the New Year right.

What a way to end 2021! I’ll be braising the collards as my family does every year and pairing this tangy/ sweet dish with traditional Lowcountry Hoppin’ John—subbing the black-eyed peas for cow peas—to bring us good luck and abundance in 2022!

Another longtime family tradition is serving an Eastern European version of beet soup—aka barszcz and borscht—it’s brilliant red color making a festive addition to the holiday table. I found a recipe for a “jazzier barszcz” in my beautiful copy of From A Polish Country House Kitchen, a collection of 90 recipes—some classic and some contemporary—reflecting Poland’s vibrant food culture.

The delicately flavored spring onions are a perfect substitute for leeks, sliced thinly into my cheesy quiche.

When she visited for the holidays, my daughter Liz prepared for us a light lunch of cauliflower soup I’d made a batch of and a radish salad—a super satisfying meal sans the calories. She sliced the radishes super thin, then dressed them with a splash of sweet sherry vinegar and added a touch of heat with harissa olive oil.

Another way to go—turn that gorgeous cauliflower head into a hearty entrée with Food Network diva Ina Garten’s cheesy gratin recipe.

Plenty more ideas are just a quick search-of-my-site away.

Happy New Year, y’all!