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BS: Grits
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Date: 05 Sep 99 - 01:47 PM W ehaven't really touched on the virtues of grits yellow cousin, MUSH......Fried up right, it's hard to beat on a winter morning, covered in butter and drowned in REAL maple syrup. 'Course dogshit would probably be good covered in butter and drowned in maple syrup...........but anyway, I do love mush!!! And since we're off on this food thread, I once again bring up my favorite breakfast meat, well sorta'...Krepples or Scrapple which you can read about by CLICKING HERE and of course this is Mudcat where no food discussion would be complete without Possum Bone uh Poteat Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barry Finn Date: 05 Sep 99 - 02:50 PM Hi Pelrad, your probably a bit young to remember White Castle, haven't seen one around these northern parts (Boston) for over 30 years, didn't even know they still existed, always thought that they were driven out when the rail came in. Kinda like a modern Joe & Nemo's without the hot dogs, ugh, not as bad as Boston Baked Beans though. I'd been through the deep south a few time & when traveling once through there with RiGGy we stopped at a truck stop & I wanted to try it (GRITS), well it was alright even pleasent then I some how passed over & ended up in Texas (South America to us far northerners "chuckle") & low & behold in Austin were I got my first & only RCA cowboy hat as a gift from Manny of Texas Hatters I was taken to Falcone's & had Fhaetas (sorry this norther can't spell southern food) & I've never had anything by that name again that was even close to what they served up, spoiled for life. I've tried most of what I could get my hands on when somewhere else except when in Hawaii, it was lunch time & I went to the roach coach (better know as the puke wagon) along with the rest of the guys I worked with & spotted "poi" on the board, said I'm gonna try that. Poi is a staple food along with rice, of the islands that's a mushed root that had a sheen of heavenly blue (Maxwell Parish sp? must've painted that food) well all the guys started laughing & saying no-no you don't wanta do that, to which I replied that like rice the Hawaiians have been eating it with everything for as far back as water. With that they all said ya they were raised on it but it as still god awful & if they hated it & wouldn't touch it then someone from a far distant shore would no doubt die a death of gagging. I thought to myself, I had once nearly been thrown of a boat during a storm because as the greenest crew member I alone was not only holding down my food but was looking to whip up something good to eat, this was a first but I passed on the poi. Sorry to further the thread leap. Barry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Sandy Paton Date: 05 Sep 99 - 02:51 PM Bob Schwarer: You're from Janesville? Do you know Jerry Rasmussen's songs? He grew up in Janesville and writes about everything from "Living on the River" to "County Fair" by way of "32nd Army Tank Division Band." Pelrad: The great powers have smiled upon you recently. In spite of Wyo Woman's unfavorable remarks (she takes everything with hot peppers and salsa!), White Castles are now available in the frozen food section of our local grocery store. If we can get 'em here in the northwest corner, you ought to be able to find 'em, too. Instant bite-sized heartburn, but... You've lost Caroline, CatsPaw. Fried mush was something her Georgia-raised mother made for the family, and Caroline loathed it, possibly because she knew it was mostly an economical way to use up yesterday's left-over breakfast. Maybe it was the Karo syrup that killed it for her. They never had real maple syrup in those depression times. Sandy |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Date: 05 Sep 99 - 03:21 PM Yeah, Sandy. I have Jerry Rasmussen's recordings. I grew up across the street from a bunch of Rasmussens. I asked Jerry if he was one of them, but he said that he wasn't. That particular house was torn down years ago, probably right after WWII. Bob S. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri Date: 05 Sep 99 - 03:21 PM Will y'all quit talking about FOOD!!! I had to go get some grits today and ended up with a pound of Quaker "Quick Grits" for a buck-thirty-five. Then I simply had to have some sweet corn because Catspaw's been talking about it and I needed a butter facial. The store was completely out!!! Boy, am I bummed - sheer maizery! (No, I haven't yet experienced a craving for dogshit and maple syrup...or frog legs.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: kendall morse (don't use) Date: 05 Sep 99 - 03:38 PM hey catspaw.. Your comment about some foods having a history of being cheap.. then gaining popularity is true. No one is going to believe this, but, many years ago here in Maine, Lobster was so plentiful and under utilized, that people used to use them for fertilizer in their gardens. They were also given to the residents of the "poor house". The times are still a changing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barbara Date: 05 Sep 99 - 03:53 PM Say Barry, I think that wonderful Texas food you're talking about and misspelling as Phaetas, is actually the Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food called Fajitas. A variety of burrito with spicy chicken and fried onions & peppers as the main ingredient? Around HERE (ORegon)they sell permutations of those at Subways and -- hold onto your shorts -- Wendy's (as a Fajita Pita, I'm afraid). Not going to tell you they are anything like what you had in Texas, but they might evoke a memory or two. After all this talk, I had to go out and buy a box of grits yesterday, and I sure like 'em. We got tons of sweet corn around here too, tho ours isn't ripe yet. Just put your mouth up to the drive door, Jeri and I'll shove one in, dang, won't fit. If I were going to grind it myself, anyone know where I could order whole dried hominy? Is that the way you'd do it? Hominy is what, the puffed rice of corn? how do you get from corn to hominy? Blessings, Barbara |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Date: 05 Sep 99 - 04:13 PM Ain't it amazing Kendall? And that's like Caroline's comment in a way too.......Sandy talked about her hating mush possibly because she knew it was a cheap fixin'. Maybe I'm the "backlash" of that same feeling. As a kid I HATED mush and now I'm thinking that it's presence was so common that I somehow knew this "wasn't what they ate uptown." And now do I enjoy it because of the nostalgia, the great memories of childhood? Meals were a fantastic time in my family. Is that what makes mush so good now? But the price of "fashionable" foods never ceases to amaze me. Fashionable isn't the right word, but when you look at the price of grits, as Jeri just did...........get real. As soon as someone "discovers" a food, the price takes off. Frozen White Castles for gawdsakes! And yeah, I know there is a difference, but I'd just as soon have "puddin'" as mousse(sp). But I DO wonder exactly what chemical concoctions I'm eating that makes whitefish taste like lobster, scallops, and crab!!! Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barry Finn Date: 05 Sep 99 - 04:17 PM Yup, Kendall, I believe, known as slave food in eariler times & to much of it given to servants or slaves was outlawed, used to wash up & litter the beaches after a storm (seacoast's version of a windfall), so I've read, I'm not that old yet. Mussels & mako is another example, you couldn't have given that to a one eyed cat 20 years ago now it's found in fancy resturants at a price that would make any fishmen think that Y2K will be the year to beat all, as long as their fishfinders don't belly up first. Barry, who's now craving a fresh half cooked slab of bluefish smothered in green peppers & onions with a side of sweet butter & sugar corn or is that salt & pepper corn, no, could that be brown & black indian corn, alright please pass the dogshit. Thanks |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: K~~ Date: 05 Sep 99 - 04:34 PM I read this whole thread on my break and now I'm all hungry and it's still an hour before quitting time **pout** |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Sandy Paton Date: 05 Sep 99 - 04:36 PM Soak that corn in a lye solution, Barbara, as the masochistic Swedes used to do to make lutefisk. Them little ol' kernels'll swell right up and become hominy. Then wash it long enough to get rid of the lye leavin's, theoretically. In order to choke that stuff down, you grind it up into grits. As Utah and Kendall Morse would say, "Good though!" You mean the fajitas at Taco Bell don't cut the mustard, Barry? They may not be Texas, but they're ubiquitous! Kendall, I really like the "seafood" mystery-mix that imitates crabmeat. Make up a "seafood salad" with it now and then, as a break from peanut-butter sandwiches. Caroline reminds me that her mother almost never bothered to fry the mush until it was growing some little blue friends all over the top. Now that might discourage even a fried mush lover dreaming of old family times. Let's hear it for "pooch poop!" Sandy |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Date: 05 Sep 99 - 05:10 PM Chef Paul P. came up with blackened redfish and almost caused the demise of a previous trash fish (red drum). Also, I read somewhere that the local name for orange roughy is "slime fish". Anyone from Australia or New Zealand confirm that? Bob S. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Pelrad Date: 05 Sep 99 - 05:50 PM LOL Barry, nope, I'm not quite old enough to remember White Castles around here. :-) And poi is icky, but it might have been a good experience for you. Doesn't really taste like much, just mashed tubers. And I agree, the fajitas in restaurants around here taste kinda like dirt, after you've had the real thing. I blame it on the bland green things that pass as chilis around here. Anyone want to send some REAL chilis up north? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Date: 05 Sep 99 - 05:54 PM Yeah Caroline...kinda' hard to get sentimental over mold, I gotta' agree. Reminds me of my single and twenty something days when Ely Lily bought my fridge to make pennicillin. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri Date: 05 Sep 99 - 06:07 PM My Mom sent me a chocolate chip bundt cake for my birthday when I was in England. It took a month to get there and went from New York to California to Germany and a couple other places. I was damned if I was gonna give up - cut the green stuff off and ate it anyway! (When did we have saurkraut?) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Bill D Date: 05 Sep 99 - 06:26 PM funny..*grin*...I sit here reading complaints about what they 'do' to grits in Boston, or fajitas in Oregon or BBQ almost ANYWHERE....and all reasonable comments."They have messed up my traditional food with foreign and gratuitous additions and ingredients"..............and there don't seem to be the vociferous arguments that surface when I complain about it being done to songs!....Thought I suppose there are recipe trading bulletin boards where it DOES get nasty.... Just idly musing... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Sourdough Date: 05 Sep 99 - 07:32 PM This is going to get to Regional food preferences and even traditional music but I have to go back to the beginning of the story which is travelling in a dugout canoe on the Marrowijne River that separates Suriname from French Guiana in the rainforests of Northeastern South America. I was with a group of people that were setting up arrangements for an anthropologist expedition the interior rainforest of the former Dutch Guiana the following summer. There were five of us outsiders traveling in a 20 metre dugout canoe powered by a 75 horsepower outboard motor. We had two boatmen and a translator as well as a utility type who did most of the cooking. In each village we wished to stay in we had to go through a welcoming ceremony which took quite some time because it required listening to long conversations in the dialect of these people which was made up of several West African languages. They were descendents of former slaves from the coastal plantations who had been living successfully for nearly three centuries in the bush. They were fiercely independent and took the cleansing ceremonies for outsiders very seriously. They had managed to keep their traditions as well as their self-respect even though they were well known to the coastal people where the cities are. Known as Djuka or Aucaner people, they disocuraged vistors but once you made it "in" they were warm and hospitable people. Our boatman was very interested in one particular village, Manlobi which was several days upriver and along our route. There was an obiahman there who had the reputation of being able to cure very serious injuries and illnesses. The boatman knew him because he was one of the more frequent travellers on the river. He usually made a trip every year. He was Djuka but he had chosen to live on the coast. I wish I could think of his name and it probably will come back to me later but I do remember he made a living taking tourists on short canoe trips up to Stoelman's Island and back to Albina, a one day round trip to the furthest settlement where there was electricity and direct communication with the outside world. If any of these place names sound familiar to you it may be because they are near the mouth of the river that leads to Devil's Island and the associated French city, St. Laurent. The boatman had a little farm on the coast and, a few months before, while clearing brush with a "cutlass" (what I had always called a machete) he had hit a stone and the blade had glanced off, struck his leg and severed his Achilles tendon. His impaiment was pretty serious and he had been anxious to take this trip because it meant he would be able to stop off and see Papa Mato in Manlobi. He was convinced Papa Mato would be able to cure him. When we came ashore in Manlobi, even we outsiders could tell that there was something wrong. The people looked listless and paid little attention to our crew. Soon, our interpreter was able to tell us what was wrong. The village had a kind of idol(when I did get to see it quite a while after all of this, it reminded me of an oversized sofa pillow). It was of enormous significance to the people there and it had been stolen. Papa Mato as the religios leader had decreed that there would be no religious celebrations of any sort, including drumming, for a period of time that I don't remember exactly but it was longer than we were going to be there. It also meant that he was not going to be able to treat the boatman's Achilles Tendon. (I have a choice where to go with this story now, to the food or to the music. I think I'll go to the food.) The staple food in this part of South America is manioc root but the variety that grows there is poisonous. The Indians taught the Djuka people how to grind it up by pounding it mercilessly and endlessly in hollowed out tree trunls with a very heavy pole. Then they showed them how to place it in a woven cylindrical sack that is hung from a tree with weights attached to the bottom of the sack. If you've ever seen a Chinese finger-trap toy, you will easily understand how this works. The more pressure i.e. wieght, you hang on the sack, the greater the squeexe. What comes out is a juice with the poison in it. The poison is used on hunting arrows and the 150 pound log of ground manioc, now quite dry, is ready to be cooked in one of the two main ways it is served there. It can be prepared as something like Grape Nuts, little hardirregular balls of the stuff or baked on griddles into a thin round flatbread. In either case, the texture is dry and hard. Since most of the food is stews of one sort or another, the bread can be added as we might rice or used as an implement with which to eat it. It is tasteless and so hard that it makes stale tortilla chips seem flavorful and delicate. If you ar enot careful, it can rip up the insides of your mouth. (I remembered being on the Arizona desert watching a javelina eating cactus, thorns and all and thinking with a mouth like that I could eat the manioc bread.) It was extrememly hard to see how anyone could get excited about sitting down for a meal in which manioc made up the central portion but when I saw not only the villagers eating with pleasure but the boatman and crew who were returning home, eating with the enthusiasm of a Bostonian reclaiming his baked beans or a Texan his barbecue, I could see how much associations have to do with taste. I guess comfort food can be nearly anything. After dinner, I sat next to Papa Mato in his home, a thatched hut with a dirt floor on which no one ever sat. There were always chairs and stools. The translator was busy but when it was my turn to talk, I mentioned music. I had been recording the music of the Djuka whenever I could but it appeared that in this village, because of the recent desecration of their shrine, this would not be possible. There was to be no music. What was particularly disappointing was that the Djuka have a separate tradition of religious drumming that I hadn't heard and Papa Mato was reputed to be an outstanding exponent of the form. I asked if I could play. Would that be all right with Papa Mato and with the villagers? He encouraged me to do so and I brought into the cabin my appalachian dulcimer. Wildwood Flower, Buffalo Gals and Cripple Creek were well received. Then Papa Mato asked to inspect the dulcimer. I passed it to him. He did the usual things of tapping the face, hitting the strings randomly, that sort of exploration. Then he handed it back to me. Everything had gone so well that I now took a chance. I turned it over and beat out a little paradiddle on the back of the instrument. Then I handed it back to the old obiahman. Slowly, at first, and then with increasing strength and purpose, he began drumming with his hands. No one said anything or interrupted him until fifteen minutes or so later he was through. He was transformed, his eyes were clearer, his face more expressive. I don't know exactly what happened but the music had done something to him and for him and even if we didn't know any details, all of us outsiders knew that we had just been a part of something special. We had seen another aspect of the power of music. Hmmm, maybe this should have been better placed in "Why We Sing." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. Date: 05 Sep 99 - 11:57 PM We may not have had maple syrup, but we sure as hell had homemade cane syrup (similar to, but not the same as molasses). Used to take the cane to a guy that had a mule-driven squeezer to squeeze out all the cane juice, and then he boiled it down into syrup for a very reasonable price. Now where was it that someone mentioned that dogshit is a staple food? Oh, and regarding Taco Bell, I had a wonderful experience with one in southern Louisiana a few years ago. I guess because I didn't know the local dialect I inadvertantly ordered the chicken salmonella burrito and spent four days of my vacation in a hospital in Lafayette. Wouldn't consider stopping at one now to pee. Chet |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri Date: 06 Sep 99 - 07:54 AM Point of pedantry (food safety tip of the day): Salmonella can take from 6 to 72 to make you sick. The average is somewhere around 24 hours. If you ate something and got sick immediately, it wasn't that meal that caused it, or it wasn't Salmonella. Symptoms include headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. Fever is usually present. And now back to your regularly scheduled program... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: paddymac Date: 06 Sep 99 - 07:56 AM Chet W. - Couldn't help but notice the seeming connection between canine tailings and Taco Bell. The really sad part is that there are probably millions of people who define "Taco" by the crap they serve up at TB. Ugh! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Date: 06 Sep 99 - 09:00 AM I want to thank all you jerks on this thread for forcing me to have a Scrapple attack and cook up some beauties this AM. My Triglycerides thank you, my Cholesterol thanks you, and my cardiologist thanks you. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Banjer Date: 06 Sep 99 - 09:17 AM Hey, Catspaw, while you're in the kitchen don't ferget to whip up a mess of grits....OK? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Date: 06 Sep 99 - 09:27 AM As a matter of fact Banj, they're cookin' now. Connie and Wayne spent the night after doing the "Drive-In" and we're having a huge mix and match kinda' breakfast.....biscuits, egg casserole mess (cooked with last nite's leftover ribs, Scrapple, gravy.........you get the idea. We'll be so logged down the rest of the day ................. aw, who cares???? Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Art Thieme Date: 06 Sep 99 - 10:20 AM I had grits for the first and only time in the FAR south---Mexico City. I do believe that these were served with a healthy supply of invisible and not very tasty AMOEBAS on top. By the time I got back to the hotel room I was searching for a commode. That was over 40 years ago---the last time I ever dared to eat 'em. Art |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: dpara Date: 06 Sep 99 - 10:50 AM So this is the Mudcat Forum, eh?, where the longest detailed thread in three days is about food. I was prepared to leap into the fray about the definition of folk song (if doesn't include dynamic variation over time, what CAN you be talking about) or start a thread about Just where or from whom did Leadbelly learn his version of the Gallows Pole; but no, it's food. Breakfast food, no less, the two great breakfast foods of North and South: White Castles and grits. Growing up in Chicago, I knew that White Castles, or the Ivory Room, or the Porcelain Palace was indeed the only thing open past 11 p.m., and there was one every eight blocks or so. Like bratwurst grilled on along the Danube in Regensburg, you order them in multiples of two. After al these years, my first box of frozen White Castles was a disappointment. My God, they left out the pickle. How cheap can you get? Even my brother disdains them, the one who lives in Boulder and includes a stop at White Castles between the airport and my mother's house. My cousin, once taking on the chauffer's job warned him,"Look, you can't eat White Castles in my car. I'll let you SMOKE in my car, but you can't eat White Castles." It is interesting that the ad slogan for White Castles now is "What you Crave." All non-relevant references to nutritional value are are forgotten. My mother got a nice home version for White Castles, "Sliders," which uses small party rolls spread with a mixture of ground beef, onion dip and cheddar cheese, and of course, pickle slices. It's a great appetizer, especially among guests of mixed regional backgrounds. I can't believe you all let the green chili grits recipe go by without requesting it. That sounds really great, and I will try to get it from WyoWoman, who must be or has been a musician, because they are omnivores by experience. It probably has to do with being let in through the kitchen all the time. In the Memphis Commercial Appeal once I caught a discussion about grits. It had nothing to do with their desirability or value as food -- that was a given. No, it had to do with speech and grammar. It was whether the word "grits" was singular or plural. (i.e., "Grits is on the menu in the South," or "Grits are best enjoyed at breakfast with egg yolk, butter and salt and at dinner as cheese grits casserole.") Many letters were offered, much like this thread. The definitive comment was as follows: Cornbread IS. Pork chops ARE Grits AM. Look, you all, I'm starting to think about my next meal. dave |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Art Thieme Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:11 AM White Castle sliders have exactly the same effect on me is as that rather large dose of amoebas had. Dave, Where in Chicago were you from? Did we ever talk about that in all the time we've known each other? Strange. Art |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:14 AM Never heard of anyone eating a "grit". Bob S. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:14 AM Another pedantic post pertinent to poop - you can get sick with amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery a few days after eating the Bad Food, but the incubation period is usually 2-4 weeks. Coulda been Clostridium perfringens at 6 - 12 hours, Staph poisoning at 1 - 6 hours or Bacillus cereus (8 - 12 hours but the vomiting part can happen at 2 - 4 hours). That last one is found in starchy foods like rice, pasta and potatoes and gets to sick-making levels when the food is left at room temperatures. Go here for more than you want to know: FDA Bad Bug Book |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Dale Rose Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:25 AM Dave, I know this is off topic, (we do that a lot) but the discussion on the definition of folk music has been discussed, cussed and recussed many times over the last few years, and no doubt will be again. As for your thread on Just where or from whom did Leadbelly learn his version of the Gallows Pole?, well, just start it and see where it takes you! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:35 AM OK, I'm sitting here munching some leftover Green Chile/Cheese Grits, which were a huge hit at the bluegrass jam I attended Saturday night. And since Dave asked, I'm sharing (and yes, my experience has been the some of the lengthiest, most vociferous threads on this site end up being about food. Which pleases me -- gotta love a good eater, since I'm a good cooker) my recipe for GC/CG. TA-DAH!!! Green Chile/Cheese Grits 2 cups water 1/2 cup grits 4 ounces (or more if it pleases you) grated cheddar cheese 1/2 cup chopped green chile (drained, if it's frozen)(whether you choose mild, medium, hot or utterly incendiary is up to you. Some green chile is very mild, but flavorful.) 1 egg minced garlic to taste salt and pepper In saucepan, slowly stir grits into boiling water. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Cook 5-7 minutes or until thickened, stirring often. (If you try to cook it with the lid off, the boiling grits go off like Old Faithful) Stir in cheese, green chile, egg, garlic, salt and pepper. Combine well. Pour in oiled casserole dish (I use a big, cast-iron skillet, sprayed with cooking spray). Bake in 350 degree F. oven for about 45 minutes, or until a cold knife inserted in the middle comes our relatively clean. (It can still be a little gooey...) Serve with a side of black beans or yummy pintos and a good beer and ya'll got a good ol' cross-cultural meal, amigo. ;-} ww
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:36 AM Art, my first few years were in Chicago also. The last place we lived was on 63rd street, about where the expressway/interstate goes thru. This would have been 1939. We left in February & headed to Wisconsin after my father died. Also lived in a place near Parnell & 70th St. Just across from the railroad tracks. Went by there again about 1960 or so when I was working in Barrington. The place was run-down, but still standing. Too late for the place on 63rd. It was long gone. Used to get into some of the White Sox games free. It was a Parks Dept. program. All we needed was our streetcar fare. Once some of us kids tried to walk to the airport (what is now Midway). Got as far as California & turned back. This would have been 1937/38. Got my first airplane ride there. A Ford tri-motor. Bob S. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Pelrad Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:50 AM Now, 'Spaw, seems to me YOU are the one who mentioned scrapple, so you can't blame us. If you'd had a grits attack, then we couldn't deny it. :-) Sourdough, what a great story, thank you for sharing! ('m so jealous; here I am sitting on an Anthropology degree and doing nothing with it.) And WW, thanks for the recipe. I wasn't sure you would share, so I was trying to glean a general recipe from your post. Now I just have to find some grits and some decent chilis. I, for one, have been taking care to visit this thread only after I have eaten a full meal. lol |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman Date: 06 Sep 99 - 12:01 PM Pelrad -- I know, I know -- one of my major challenges in moving to Wyoming was just finding INGREDIENTS! But all of a sudden a few months ago our local grocery store started carrying frozen green chile. Bueno brand, just what I used to get in New Mexico when the stuff I'd had roasted and frozen ran out before the new harvest. So, it's out there. What part of the world do you live in? Maybe you can ask your grocer to order it?
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Art Thieme Date: 06 Sep 99 - 09:42 PM Bob, I know those areas well. I used to drive a cab in Chicago. But you were ahead of me. I was born in '41. I used to take the "L" to 63rd & Stony Island and walk over to Mandel Hall at the University of Chicago for the folk festival every January. Either that or the Illinois Central out to 57th St. We lived on the North side but we'd ride the Clark Street bus all the way south to 35th St. and go to the Sox Games. It took about 2 hours on the bus to get there. There wa a local legendary type of guy who'd ride the Clark St. bus all the time named "Casey Jones". He always traveled with a live chicken on a leash. Attached to his belt he had a toy phone and a doll. He'd talk through that little phone and hold conversations with the doll and the chicken. He was a great old Chicago character. Bill Veeck was around about then. I'll never forget the time he pulled up his pants leg and put out his cigaette on his LEG. That was when I realized he had a wooden leg with an ashtray in it! Art |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Roger in Baltimore Date: 06 Sep 99 - 10:33 PM Catspaw, So you like scrapple, but aren't fond of hominy. Oh do I have the dish for you. Around here they make a concoction called "Pudding". No, not the Bill Cosby stuff. It is a concoction of meat by-products. In fact, it is simply scrapple without the corn meal. Now, you wouldn't want to eat it by itself. Refrigerated, it comes in blocks (poured into an aluminum loaf pan). A slice in the frying pan, however, soon turns into a semiliquid mess. Well, the only way to eat "Pudding" is with Hominy. Now you can put the hominy on the side or you can put the "Pudding" over the top like gravy on mashed potatoes. But you eat 'em together. Lots of Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch) in Carroll County and this is a traditional breakfast treat. The main reason I go to Church Breakfast's in my county is to get a couple of helpings of Hominy and Pudding. Local restaurants are seldom bold enough to have this dish on their menu. Scrapple is pretty common on menus. Gee, Sandy, I like Hominy better than grits. And after you have had your Hominy and Pudding you might want to prepare for Cottage Cheese and Apple Butter for lunch or dinner. These two dishes show up on many a salad bar for they are a classic Carroll County side dish when combined. And speaking of Apple Butter, the only civilized way to eat scrapple is covered with a layer of refrigerated Apple Butter. Oh the crispness of the scrapple mingles with the soft texture of the apple butter. The hot greasy fried taste of the scrapple is countered by the sweet coolness of the apple butter. Hm, Hm, good! Well, it could be I'm going off the diet this weekend just because of this thread. Big RiB |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barry Finn Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:00 PM Hi Roger, how can you eat that stuff, sounds like you just bled a tree & a bear & put it to a warm mix, but you make it sound so interesting. You wouldn't by chance be whipping up any of this so called breakfast food at the getaway would you? Barry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: alison Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:15 PM Hi, An Ulster fry probably differs (answers to a question way higher up this thread)... because we have potato bread and soda farls fried which may not be available for the english version........ ( we can also add fried bread and pancakes...... basically if it fits in the pan... it's included) slainte alison |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman Date: 06 Sep 99 - 11:26 PM OK, I"ve been accused of liking everything with chiles and hot peppers on it, BUT ... If you haven't tried posole, you've never REALLY had hominy. It's this delicious soup that's made with a broth base (I use chicken or veggie broth to accommodate my vegetarian daughter, but I think pork stew meat is more traditional) and hominy and salt and a little garlic and some red chile flakes and a little oregano or cilantro (easy does it) in it. And you serve red chile on the side (real New Mexican red chile, not the Tex-Mex stuff with hamburger and beans, which is chili...) and pinto beans and maybe some shredded, cooked pork (beef can be substituted) roast and ... mmm, what a feast. If anyone wants the recipe ... WW |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Date: 07 Sep 99 - 12:11 AM HEY BIG RiB !!! I remember your description from another food thread RiB....Sounded good then...Sounds good NOW!!! So the Finn and I are in line for a serve-up of this at the getaway. Now I know you're staying at the Super 8, but I'd be more than happy to have a breakfast buffet at my camper......Lessee....... grits, WW's green chile grits, Scrapple, Puddin' & hominy.................so we line up a few 'Catters to come over since the FSGW folks are short on food fixing anyhow......and SusanA-R has that restaurant and uh, ....soundin' good....... Ya know, I just took a 5 minute break and actually thought about this. It started out as some fun BS, but hellfire...THIS IS DOABLE!!! Wonder who else is at the Travel Trailer Village? I gotta' think about this some more....could work. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Big Mick Date: 07 Sep 99 - 01:26 AM Count me in on breakfast, you have me so damn hungry...............I worked up an appetite with THE FAIR ONE out behind the Mudcat Tavern 9. OOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhh but we are going to enjoy this Getaway.......Damn, can't wait. Mick |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Allan C. Date: 07 Sep 99 - 08:31 AM I guess I like grits just about any way you can fix 'em. I like to put a gob of them on top of some sunny-side-up eggs, add extreme amounts of pepper and some salt, then break the yolks allowing them to mix into the grits. Yum! But I also like them in a bowl with butter, sugar or honey, and milk. A little-known bit of presidential trivia: Ike ate grits for breakfast nearly every day of his adult life. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Date: 07 Sep 99 - 09:20 AM Yeah........So, like, uh, what?...........Is that an endorsement of grits? I mean, 'cause if Ol' Ike is some kinda' "Poster Child" for grits.........well........I mean like there you have it! Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Penny S. Date: 07 Sep 99 - 12:51 PM Alison, thanks - we can get potato farls, and soda farls over here. Also Staffordshire oatcakes which are like pancakes, and are wrapped around the bacon and dipped in the runny egg yolks. And on your principle of it fits, fried bread, and yesterdays' cunningly planned leftover potatoes, mashed or sliced, and bubble-and-squeak (would this be acceptable if called fried colcannon?). I think all those ands should read or. So, basically, its not so much what you fry as where you fry it. Penny |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Allan C. Date: 07 Sep 99 - 01:22 PM 'Spaw, it so very difficult and an awful burden for one to carry around such a heavy load of useless and pointless information. And so, with hope of relief nearly gone, an opportunity - however flimsy - appears and suddenly the load is lightened ever so slightly. I can offer no other justification for having submitted this true gem of information. I remain grateful for the lighter burden. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Bert Date: 07 Sep 99 - 01:26 PM Knew this woman who loved grits. But she complained that English food was bland!!! Never did figure that one out. Give me an English breakfast any time. Bacon, eggs, mushrooms, potatoes (maybe bubble & squeak), fried tomatoes, a couple of slices of black pudding or kidney, fried bread (in bacon grease of course). - Aaaahhh Grits? Huh! The bag that they come in is probably tastier. Bert. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Date: 07 Sep 99 - 01:32 PM Always happy to oblige Allan. I feel your pain ( and I suspect most others hanging out around this place do too). Ike also had a couple of weimeraners, some of the earlier ones in this country, yet I've seen two different specials on "First Dogs" and it's never mentioned. I wonder why? Was it because they lived at Gettysburg and not at the White House? Sorry Allan, didn't mean to return the serve. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: :-) Date: 07 Sep 99 - 04:45 PM burp |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Steve Latimer Date: 07 Sep 99 - 04:51 PM I first experienced Grits while in Florida escaping a Toronto winter. I always attempt to try local dishes where ever I go. I really liked grits as described above, a pat of butter, salt and pepper and some egg yolk stirred in. I find them to be quite a bit like Cream of Wheat in taste and texture. Some of the other delicacies I tried down there are catfish, which I thought I'd hate but really enjoyed, Barbecue which although we have barbecues in Canada I have never experienced anything like the Ribs, Chicken and Pork I had in Florida. I enjoyed Chicken Fried Steak, although I know it can't be healthy and while on that topic, what's with sausage gravy? It has to rival our Canadian dish, Poutine (Chips smothered in ultra thick gravy and melted cheese) as the quickest way to O.D. from fat and cholesterol. Having said that I make sure that all breaksfasts I have in the southern States include Grits and biscuits and sausage gravy. In keeping with the tradition of sampling local wares, I once did some substantial single malt sampling while in Edinburgh. I woke up the next morning feeling one heartbeat ahead of death and my head feeling like it had been hit by a stray caber. I went downstairs for breakfast which was included with the lodging, but there was no menu, they just served eveyone the same thing. I have a rock solid constitution. I was given fried bread, which I could barely get down, and then the waitress brought one of those little covered serving dishes. Uncovering it revealed Kippers, a couple of yellow looking dead fish staring up at me. It was the only time in my life I've ever had to flee a table.
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. Date: 07 Sep 99 - 08:58 PM More food threads! By the way, jer, it was Salmonella I had in Louisiana. I know the symptoms, the timing, and it was also what the doctors in Lafayette said I had, although they wouldn't say it to the insurance people afterward. Never seen a community (Morgan City/Franklin/Houma, Louisiana) close ranks against a passer-through as they did with me. I have only bad wishes for Taco Bell, as would most people who were nearly done in by their negligence. Take yer best shot. Chet |
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Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman Date: 07 Sep 99 - 10:04 PM Lordy, Steve L., that was graphic enough to have ME like ta' hurl... HOWEVER, I just had my first bacon and HOMEGROWN tomato sandwich of the season, so I am a happy, happy camper. I only buy a pound of bacon a year, right at this time, when the tomatoes finally start bearing. One simply has to have a bacon and tomato sandwich with a lot of pepper and salt at the end of summer -- otherwise, how can fall arrive? Yummo. ww |