Lucky New Year's Soup

Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's is a Southern tradition that is supposed to bring good luck. With a nod to my dad's roots, I offer this recipe:

1 package black-eyed peas, rinsed and sorted
1 medium or large garlic clove, pressed
1 ham bone, with scraps, left from spiral cut ham
Hot pepper sauce (Tabasco or equivalent)

Throw it all in a crockpot, fill 2/3 full w/ water, cook at low for about 6 hours. Discard ham bone. Chop any too-large chunks of meat and return to soup. Add hot pepper sauce to taste, and salt if it needs it (between the ham and the hot pepper sauce, mine didn't).

I scooped out a bunch of beans to make a casserole tomorrow, which left a very light, brothy bean soup.