Hopping John Recipe

PM MUST KEEP HIS NERVE WHEN FACED WITH OPPOSITION

For every Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, who appear born to do the job, there is a Gordon Brown and John Major who can’t even convince their own party. Good government requires leadership, firmness and clear direction. Bad government is an inevitable consequence of weakness at the top. There is no doubt that – so far – David Cameron belongs in the former group. He has only been in office for just over a year but from his first moment in No 10 he has exuded the aura of a prime minister.

That’s not about whether one agrees with his policies. It’s about whether he seems, as was always the case with Gordon Brown and John Major, days away from political disaster, or whether he comes across as secure and confident in his power. But recently, the smack of firm government seems to have disappeared, as the Government has conceded a series of U-turns over its NHS reforms, foreign students and sentencing policy.

Far from plotting a decisive course, Mr Cameron has started to look as if he is swaying with the wind. Certainly he has to perform the most difficult political balancing act in a generation, having to govern at the head of a coalition. But on some of the biggest policy areas Mr Cameron’s footwork has been far from deft. He has performed some remarkably clod-hopping U-turns and been anything but convincing. ON the NHS, he began by charging headlong into major and much needed reform. Now he has swung wildly into reverse. On foreign student numbers, a pledge to limit the total has been cut in half.

This weekend it was revealed that a demand that councils reinstate weekly bin collections has been dropped. And, right at the start of Mr Cameron’s time in office, a sensible and serious reform of the Forestry Commission was simply dumped. Sometimes the U-turn is one that sensible people must welcome. When Ken Clarke’s sentencing policy was – rightly – savaged by a broad spectrum of opinion, it became clear that Downing Street would intervene. The last thing Mr Cameron wants is for the Conservatives to be thought of as weak on crime.

So he simply had to overturn Mr Clarke’s ideas. But whatever the rights and wrongs of the various policy shifts, all have come about because opposition was vocal and organised. Take the NHS reforms. Andrew Lansley has spent years studying the subject, learning from abroad what works and what doesn’t.

Hopping John Recipe | Brad Rourke's Blog

It is a family tradition in our house to eat black eyed peas. On New Year’s Day. It is said to bring luck. As someone who says “rabbit rabbit” religiously every first-of-the-month, who am I to resist?

In the past, I have included black eyed peas in soup for New Year’s Day. But lately, I have been making Hopping John. This Year’s version was quite tasty, so I thought I would share.

Hoppin’ John

It helps to start with some leftover ham.

First, clean and soak 1 pound (a bag) of black eyed peas overnight. Use between six and eight cups of water. Use a big pot (like 8 quarts or more), one that can take heat over the stove.

In the morning, chop up an onion, three celery stalks, and a whole green pepper. Sauté them in bacon fat (you have some in the fridge, right?) or butter. Get them soft but not caramelized. Then throw in about a half pound of diced ham, stirring to get it warmed through.

Put the onion, pepper, celery and ham in the pot with the beans and their water. To this, add: four cups chicken stock, a tablespoon of salt,a teaspoon of pepper, and a few shakes of Tabasco. The whole thing will be the consistency of a thick soup.

Bring the whole mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes until the beans are tender.

A this point, it will have a consistency of something between soup and stew.

Add two cups of rice, and bring it all to a boil again. Then reduce heat, cover, and cook the rice for 25 minutes.

Now, remove the cover and keep the heat on until whatever moisture is left evaporates so it is a slightly creamy consistency (like a thick risotto).

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