Violet Broth

      In recent years, I have tried a lot of variations on the basic New Year's Day meal.  Up here in the North, corned beef and cabbage are essential.

      This year, I was a little more conventional, simmering the corned beef in a pot of water on the stove.  I did add a chopped turnip and an apple early on, and followed with carrots, celery, red onion and some mostly-purple potatoes.  With twenty minutes to go, I added wedges of purple cabbage.  (I also simmered black-eyed peas in a separate pan, to hedge my bets.  They got smoked paprika, onion, garlic, bay leaves, fresh-ground pepper and truffle salt.)

      The end result was tasty -- and the broth was violet!  I had looked for purple carrots, just for fun; our corner grocer often has them, mixed with white, yellow and orange ones.  But between the cabbage, onions and potatoes, there was plenty of color.

      In the days before the holiday, I realized it was entirely possible to fuse the Northern and Southern traditions, by making Hoppin' John with cubes of tender corned beef instead of ham and serving it over rice fried with shredded cabbage.  I think it would work, and then you'd have everything, all in one dish.