Happy New Year!

We kick off 2026 with a backpacking recipe that will bring prosperity and good fortune to your adventures in the year ahead.

While the Hoppin’ John & Collard Greens recipe is new on Backpacking Chef, it has been a traditional meal served on New Year’s Day in southern homes in the United States for centuries.

Black-eyed peas are said to represent coins, and collard greens represent paper money. The more you eat, the more you prosper. Another way to look at it, the humble ingredients stand for resilience, an assurance that we will not only survive, but thrive on rustic, nutritious food in the days ahead.

Hoppin’ John & Collard Greens

The new page shows the traditional way of cooking black-eyed peas and greens from scratch but also includes a “quick & easy” method if you want to go with canned black-eyed peas and greens.

I used thick-cut ham in the recipe, which I shredded so that it would dehydrate evenly with the other ingredients. Shredding ham also ensures that it rehydrates well in backpacking meals.

There’s also a tip for dehydrating greens so that they don’t blow all over the place. I dehydrated collard greens, but turnip greens or mustard greens are good too.

Dominique says that this is her favorite new backpacking meal, but she seems to say that every month. We enjoyed it fresh out of the dehydrator, and again yesterday for a New Year’s Day hike on the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain to Three Forks. We think you’ll love this rustic, nutritious comfort food the next time you dine around a campfire.

Explore the new page:

Hoppin’ John & Collard Greens

We plan to do more hiking, camping, and backpacking this year. What are your plans for 2026? Did you get out for a New Year’s Day hike? Feel free to send us a note or a photo.

Freundliche Grüsse,

Chef Glenn & Dominique

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