Of Texas foods and non-Texans (Houston, Dallas: for sale, coop, living)

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

I think you are right, Awecelot. Now, goobers in cokes are part of Texas tradition.

TexasReb, growing up in East Texas, the only experience I had with peanuts in Coca Cola (then or since, come to that) was reading about it in novels about the South (as in Georgia, etc.) And my first word was Coke! (Not Mama, not Dada - Coke. I was sitting in my mother's lap and she burped and I looked up at her and said, "Coke?"

So I'm not so sure about being "part of Texas tradition". More like, maybe some parts of Texas - but not the part of East Texas where I was born and raised (or, evidently, any of the parts where Daddy was a travelin' preacher), or the part of North Texas where I lived, or the part of Central Texas where I live.

I used to be able to eat black-eyed peas from a can, and still would be able to in the aforementioned New Year's Day emergency, but I'd rather have dried ones in my emergency stash to take up north and fix 'em up right!

Okra should not be breaded, but lightly dusted with cornmeal before frying. Stewed okra I never could get along with (I've seen many a Yankee turn pale after taking a bite of stewed okra), but okra is essential to my gumbo.

I share the memories of snapping peas on the porch with my grandma. (My mother tended to cook out of cans a lot - as a preacher's wife, she needed to be able to throw an extra can in or an extra cup of water in the stew in case of unexpected guests. My grandmother cooked from scratch, and it appears to have skipped a generation. Though I'll do both, depending entirely on the can these days!

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

TexasReb, growing up in East Texas, the only experience I had with peanuts in Coca Cola (then or since, come to that) was reading about it in novels about the South (as in Georgia, etc.) And my first word was Coke! (Not Mama, not Dada - Coke. I was sitting in my mother's lap and she burped and I looked up at her and said, "Coke?"

So I'm not so sure about being "part of Texas tradition". More like, maybe some parts of Texas - but not the part of East Texas where I was born and raised (or, evidently, any of the parts where Daddy was a travelin' preacher), or the part of North Texas where I lived, or the part of Central Texas where I live.

Hmmmm. That is kinda interesting (and good story about your mother and the coke! LOL). I guess I always just assumed it was (peanuts in a coke bottle) part of Texas tradition because when I was growing up, so many men I was around would do it. For instance, my grandfather was a service manager at a Good-Year tire store, and when he and his co-workers would take breaks, many of them would buy a bottle of coke (usually Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper) and a bag of either Tom's or Lance's peanuts and pour them in! LOL

Okra should not be breaded, but lightly dusted with cornmeal before frying.

I agree with you right down the line on this, THL!

[carolmcb]

I used to love frog legs. My mother and grandmother both would cook them. You could buy the legs in the meat section of the grocery store. You could also get great frog legs at the Drive-Inn Restaurant in Matamoros, Mexico. (That's right across the Rio Grande from my home town of Brownsville.)

Then my dinning choices were forever reduced when we drove up to Mercedes one weekend to see my uncle, aunt and cousins. They were out but left a note on the door to come on in. My mother wanted a glass of water and I went into the kitchen to get her one. There, in the sink, were remains of a number (a large number) of frogs without their legs. It was gross and gruesome. Then my aunt came home -- she started screaming. Bottom line -- it was my cousin's mess. He went out frog gigging with his friends and then brought them (his friends and the frogs) back to his house for a frog leg fry. He decided to "clean" the frogs in the kitchen sink but then decided to go bike riding with his friends rather than clean up. Bad decision that resulted in a grounding for him that lasted a month. I've never been able to eat frog legs again. But I do remember that they tasted great.

I strongly recommend that, if you are going to introduce a Northerner to frog legs, don't take them frog gigging and "frog cutting up". Just fry them the legs and let them enjoy. For first timers, I recommend cutting off the toe bones. That can be a little creepy.

[awecelot]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I have seen raw fresh, light green peanuts once in my life....and they were then roasted!

What are boiled peanuts like? Since they are a legume, like pinto beans....do they taste anything like pintos/red/black beans?

They taste a bit like pintos, and a bit like red beans. They don't really taste anything like black beans.

I had them while driving through South Carolina a few years back. All along the road were these stands advertising boiled peanuts. After the fourth or fifth one I saw, I just had to stop and get me some. I was hooked from the first taste.

They are a great snack food, and, according to Wikipedia, are an "excellent food for very hot weather and outdoor work."

Boiled peanuts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TexasReb - I've seen peanuts in Coke and have even done it once or twice. Those shelled peanuts are really good, too. And remember that Southwest Airlines, a home-grown Texas legend, has made the airline peanut famous.

With Texas' history with the peanut, it's surprising to me that the boiled peanut has never caught on.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

Good memories! I will choose purple hulls over blackeyes any day myself, of course on New Year's it's always blackeyes. My cousin who had a fairly large farm in east Texas grew purple hulls and he had to have them on the table at every meal (with the exception of breakfast ). I can't tell you the number of times I've sat out on the porch or under a shade tree with a bowl in my lap, big paper sack full of peas on one side of me and another big paper sack on the other side of me to throw the hulls in to later feed to the cows.

Good memories indeed! Of course, at the time they weren't so...like grinding homemade icecream! LOL

But I well remember as a kid when my grandmothers or mother would make us kids sit and help "snap and shell" them. Sacks full of them. And that was a day looooong chore! But for sure, the end product was something that yankees just don't know what they miss out on!

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by awecelot

TexasReb - I've seen peanuts in Coke and have even done it once or twice. Those shelled peanuts are really good, too. And remember that Southwest Airlines, a home-grown Texas legend, has made the airline peanut famous.

With Texas' history with the peanut, it's surprising to me that the boiled peanut has never caught on.

The Southwest airlines thing is new to me. Can you elaborate a bit...?

I did some "googling" and found that in parts of East Texas (which is not surprising) that boiled peanuts are somewhat a familiar fare. But still not like in the further southeastern states. You are right though, surprising given that Texas (behind Georgia) is the largest peanut producing state.

The peanuts in coke thing I have always been around and heard of in Texas. Because of the decline of the bottled coke, I am sure it isn't nearly as common as it once was, but when I was growing up, it seemed to be commonplace...

[TexasHorseLady]

I can't believe you're not familiar with Southwest Airlines and peanuts! They've been famous for donkeys' years for handing out packets of peanuts to every passenger so you'll have something to munch on.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Okra has snaps, too? I wouldn't know, as I have never seen okra growing, and we never had okra in the garden. Might be an interesting experiment one year just to see what they're like.

I hate fried okra and most other fried, greasy veggies. I LOVE the sliminess of okra, and will eat fresh or a GOOD quality (yes, it does exist), brand-name frozen okra. To me, battering and frying veggies just ruins them, when they're so good fresh!!!

Sorry Cathy! I went back and re-read my earlier post and yes, it DID appear I implied okra had "snaps". Forgive me for the confusion! Okra has TIPS (which I cook too), but not snaps! LOL

Anyway, yeah, you oughta try growing it. I know you live in New Mexico now and it MIGHT do well there, depending on the your climate. One of the reasons okra caught on so well in the Southern United States and not the north is precisely for that reason. It is one of those rare plants that truly THRIVES in hot weather. It just wont grow well (if at all) in the North or Mountain West as tempertures are not condusive for it. However, depending on where you live in New Mexico, if not in the higher elevations, you might get a decent crop!

Two things though, if you have never dealt with it before. First, once it starts growing, it grows FAST! LOL Also, it is very "sticky and itchy" to pick...kinda like handling fiberglass insulation!

*grinning a bit* Cathy hon, if there exists a good brand of frozen okra (battered or not), you will have to introduce me to it! Because my own experiences have just not been good! LOL

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

I can't believe you're not familiar with Southwest Airlines and peanuts! They've been famous for donkeys' years for handing out packets of peanuts to every passenger so you'll have something to munch on.

LOL Wellll, I truly plead guilty of ignorance on this one. Of course, I don't fly at all. Not the flying that bothers me...it is coming down possibilities!

[tstone]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

LOL Wellll, I truly plead guilty of ignorance on this one. Of course, I don't fly at all. Not the flying that bothers me...it is coming down possibilities!

They still pass out peanuts to this day. A bit surprising considering the fatal allergies some people have to the dust!