This USA Today article speaks of what some may call forgettable towns with far from forgettable names. They cite "suburban swallow up" for the erasure of these towns from maps. What once made an area a landmark is destroyed by yet another planned community.
On a trip through Texas I passed through many towns and cities but the only one I can remember is Cut and Shoot, Texas. I've seen and heard of others that are closer to me. Pumpkin Center and Toadvine and the interesting story of Remlap and Palmerdale. It seemed to have to do with two kin folks (brothers maybe) that both were going to name an area after their last names which happened to be Palmer. One beat the other to the punch so the other just spelled his last name backwards and the two sit side by side. [Feel free to correct me because I fear I may not all the details I need. I first heard the story around the age of 8 so it's fermented in my brain for well over 25 years]
Southern or not what are some interesting towns, cities or communities with interesting names near you?
We see the Salvation Army volunteers ringing the bells every year and sometimes we put a few coins in or maybe some cash and that may be most of the charitable giving we do for the season. I'd like to know what you are volunteering for or what you are donating and to whom this holiday season.
So let me know in the comments or email me at drew [at] Okra Cola (dot) com to let me know about how you are giving back. Even if it was last month at Thanksgiving it would still be good information for people. Thanks and Happy Advent, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
85 years ago yesterday the WSM Barn Dance aired on AM 650 in Nashville, Tennessee. That may not sound very exciting, but on December 10, 1927, it was renamed The Grand Ole Opry. Before doing a little research I had no idea that after an artist passes he or she is no longer a standing member of the Grand Ole Opry. I assumed it was like a Who's Who or a Hall of Fame, but Nashville already has the Country Music Hall of Fame. At one time they had to make 26 appearances a year and only got paid $44 which made being a member a hardship on some performers. Things have changed since then.
Anybody that has been to Nashville knows that the Ryman Auditorium is the most famous former home of the Grand Ole Opry. If you know that you probably also know that there is a circle of the stage, about 5 feet in diamater, that was taken from the Ryman and was installed on the current Grand Ole Opry House stage. That circle, as well as the rest of the stage, was submerged under 46 inches of water during the May 2010 flood. The circle had to be refurbished but was reinstalled on August 25, 2010 with help from Little Jimmy Dickens and Brad Paisley.
Speaking of Little Jimmy Dickens he is the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry website says his mailbox is the only one out of alphabetical order at the Opry House to cater to his 4'11" stature. You probably saw him at the 2010 CMA's and if not check out the YouTube video.
Other members include, but are not limited to (in no particular order): Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Trace Adkins, Loretta Lynn, Blake Shelton, Vince Gill, Roy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton and many more.
Shows are still played at the Ryman and of course you can see a show at the Grand Ole Opry House too. Click the links, take a visit to Music City and take in a show or two while you are there.
Got a Nashville or Opry story, or see something I overlooked/left out/got wrong? Lemme know about any and all in the comments.
Wade has been doing a series on Birmingham's Best Eats and has a brief history of Buffalo Rock as well as some libations made with the stuff. He even used the photo featured on this blog.
The internet has some new found obsession with bacon, I think the bacon explosion may have given the movement momentum. Neatorama even has a bacon section in their store!
In the South it's always an obsession. We use it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We even use it for our vegetables and the bacon grease is as valuable as the bacon itself.
The other day on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives I saw two things I love melded into one. Bacon infused bourbon. Oh yes, tis true....it exists. Not only that but you can make your own!
Basically you cook 4 or 5 strips of bacon and drain the fat off to cool to near room temperature. Then take a 750ml bottle of bourbon, pour the bacon grease in and let it sit. I've seen times for as little as a few hours and as much as 48, so you make the call. Then you put it in an ice bath or in the freezer to let the fat rise to the top and solidify. Strain off the fat and viola, Bacon-Boubon. Wow!
Hey everybody! I really appreciate you all supporting the blog this year and I apologize for not keeping it up that much since around March. I've been busy at work, with playing music in smokey bars and dealing with my Mom being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Her last chemo treatment for her first round is today so prayers would be appreciated.
I'm going to at least try to do one post per week and your comments and suggestions are most welcome. I'm down for guest posters too, just pitch an idea to drew [at] okracola [dot] com or on Twitter @OkraCola.
For those who don't know poke salad is not something you grow in a garden but a poisonous wild weed that is picked for its young leaves (before they get a red hue) then boiled at least twice to get the toxins out of it. One scientist says that no part of the plant should be eaten no matter how many times it is boiled.
I don't eat poke salad, and I don't know anyone who does anymore, but I do remember going with a friends parents, grandparents and their aunt and uncle to go look for poke salad. One of my other friends had a school bus driver that occasionally stopped if she saw some "good poke salad."
Many of you have heard the Tony Joe White song Poke Salad Annie which was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama (they've been known for a song or two) in 1969 and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Do you have a poke salad story? Share with us in the comments section and don't forget to follow @okracola on Twitter!
(n.) Son, go out and cut me two of them 'maters from the garden
(n.) These 'maters sure are juicy.
'Maters are tomatoes. Just about every Southerner I know has their own 'mater plant whether they have a green thumb or not.
And why not? They are really easy to grow and you can do it in a large pot on your back porch. Just give it lots of sun and lots of water and you'll be growing 'maters in no time! We recently bought a Topsy Turvy so I'll try to let y'all in on how that works after the first few tomatoes are harvested.
Last year I did a Brandywine heirloom tomoato and it was one of the most flavorful ones I'd ever tasted! Some people have their own favorite variety so just get what looks and sounds good. If you're patient you can make one of the best things to eat on a summer afternoon or evening, a 'mater sandwich.
Got tips for growing tomatoes or any other tomato facts? Put 'em in the comments!
A friend of mine heard me sing a song I made up about collard greens then heard these cats on NPR's Fresh Air and told me I had to listen to them. The Carolina Chocolate Drops play music in the olde time string band style that was popular in the 1920's and 1930's. This song from YouTube is called "Cornbread and Butterbeans."
Somebody said that the line, "eatin' beans and makin' love as long as I am able" was not quite a romantic line, but I said that sometimes when you're broke all you got is some dry beans and each other and I think that is pretty romantic.
They play many instruments including some killer kazoo solos, but also do some modern stuff with beatboxing. I dig 'em and think y'all may too.
Carnival, Fat Tuesday whatever you call it today is MARDI GRAS! The day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, folks let down their hair and binge on the stuff they're supposed to give up for the next 40 days and nights. For most its just a hedonistic reason to go out and do what you wouldn't normally do.
Most people know that New Orleans is the home of Mardi Gras in the U.S., but Mobile, Alabama actually has the oldest organized Mardi Gras celebration. It's now celebrated in Biloxi, Galveston, all over different cities in Louisiana and many other Southern and non-Southern cities.
Parties, balls and parades are held; doubloons, beads, cups, Moon Pies are thrown, and much alcohol is usually consumed.
Another tradition of Mardi Gras is the King Cake. A large ring of a coffee cake/cinnamon roll type of pastry filled with anything from spices and nuts to cream cheese. It is usually iced and sprinkled with 3 different colored sugars: Purple for the Passion of Christ (justice); Green for hope (faith); and Gold for the treasures of leading a Christian life (power). Traditionally a trinket or more recently a plastic baby was hidden in the cake and whoever had a piece with the trinket in it was king or queen for the day; but also had to buy the next King Cake or host the next party.
Of course in our fine country of lawsuit happy people plastic babies are now not usually supplied by bakers; if they are they don't insert it into the cake. The last few I had were baked with a whole pecan to represent the baby/trinket.
So what are you giving up for Lent? You don't have to be Catholic, we could probably all use a little mortification now and then. Think of it as a good reason to pick up the New Year's Resolution you gave up about a month ago (more exercise, fewer cokes, reading more). If you aren't giving anything up, let us know your favorite hangover cure in the comments. Also, please let us know your family Mardi Gras traditions.
Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale is a Golden Ginger Ale which is darker in color and much stronger in flavor compared to dry ginger ale (Canada Dry, Schweppes, etc.). It was created and has been in production in some way-shape-or form since 1901! I know it is distributed in Birmingham by the Buffalo Rock company, but I have know idea of the brands reach in the Southeast.
I really have just found a taste and liking for it lately, but know people who's grandmaw's swore by it. Any time they had a stomach ache or felt bad, Buffalo Rock came to the rescue. I also know many Otherners and locals who have tasted it and thought it was too much ginger for their tastes. I have to admit that the first few times I tried it I coughed from inhaling too much before the first swig.
I think I developed a taste for it because of my very British grandmother that ate candied ginger and loved ginger beer (which hasn't got a lick of alcohol in it by the way).
So what's your regional taste? Got a drink, snack, or dish that is very specific to your region? Shoot me an email (Drew [at] Okra Cola (dot) com) and we may have you do a guest post on it.
Do you have a Buffalo Rock story? Tell us about it in the comments.
I love the movie Groundhog Day. It's one of those movies I can't pass over when I'm channel surfing. What's sad amazing, is that most of that stuff in the movie (speaking to humans in goundhogese, there only being one Punxsutawney Phil since the 1800's, etc.) is true!
Here are two Southern groundhogs:
Birmingham Bill lives at the Birmingham Zoo in Birmingham, Alabama and does make an annual appearance. You can join at the Wildlife stage starting at. 10am on Tuesday, February 2. Just for reference, the festivities in Punxsutawney, PA begin at 3am ET! Phil doesn't even prognosticate until 7:25am ET.
General Beauregard Lee, Ph.D. is the official weather prognosticating groundhog in Georgia and makes his home at the Yellow River Game Ranch. He is scheduled to make his official announcement at 6am CT. He is reported to be the first groundhog to make his announcement via Twitter.
As an FYI Punxsutawney Phil will have a webcast tomorrow morning. Click the link and pick your view. You can also have him text you his prediction. More here.
Okra Cola now has an iPhone App! I worked with a company called MotherApp and now my blog is an iPhone App! This is a huge step for Okra Cola and I believe 2010 will be the year many more things happen.
When you get a chance please download the app and see what you think and if you have time leave an honest review of the app. Part of it form and part function. The app is out of my hands which should be one level of it, but the content and design is all mine which should be the other level.
I want to thank all y'all for reading and subscribing and please let me know what I can do to make this blog better for you. If you are interested in doing a guest post or just want to pitch an idea for a post please email me drew [at] okracola [dot] com.
I look forward to hearing from you and can't wait to post some more!
I'm sorry to say this but MotherApp has decided to discontinue these types of apps. If you still have the app it will work but if you don't have the app you'll probably never have it. Sorry but thanks to you who already have it!
Just thought I'd share some sites of people that I keep up with on the internet and via twitter. These are people that have helped me with the blog, inspired this blog, or they are people I look up to. Hope you enjoy.
Deep Fried Kudzu - Folk art, cooking, resturant reviews and more!
The Aluminum Bride - A friend of mine's blog; Planning a Platinum Wedding . . . on an Aluminum Budget!
Rick and Bubba - If you aren't from the South and want to get your feet wet listen/watch these guys. Rick and Bubba Ustream. The UStream Feed is rad! Even on the iPhone.
So check 'em out and see what they have to say! Got more links from Alabamians or other Southerners? Let us know in the comments!
There have been a good many CD's doing Bluegrass covers of Rock songs. Pickin' on the Stones, the Grateful Dead, even Blues Traveler. One such band doing this kinda thing is Hayseed Dixie, which sounds a bit like AC/DC. Their first album was "A Hilbilly Tribute to AC/DC" in twenty-oh-one.
I love hot sauce. I put it on a lot of things especially steak fries at BBQ joints and leftover (warm) pizza. I love chicken wings and plan on making my own sauce one day. A basic wing sauce would be hot sauce and butter/margerine to taste to coat the fried wings. One place I know smokes the wings then fries them until crispy, then tosses with the sauce. Moore's makes a really good wing sauce as well as Frank's Red Hot.
I also want to make a BBQ sauce one day since I love my rub, and just don't wan to go through the trial and error on that yet, but I'm sure it will include Tabasco which is my brand of choice.
15. Melt with butter and douse over your movie popcorn--yum! 20. Add to chutney for a little pep to the sweetness. 5. Put a dash of heat/smokiness into ribs. 18. Dollop on raw oysters for fresh-out-of-the-sea heat.
There are 3 entries in the comments to add them to your grits with regular cheese and/or parmesan.
They list other everyday uses for hot sauce for nail biters and keeping squirrels out. So what's your favorite hot sauce? What do you use it on?
You can call them tomato sandwiches, 'mater sammiches, whatever; I'll just call them delicious. It is literally slices of tomato on bread and I think most people add mayo and a little bit of salt and pepper. I can't believe this a foreign concept to some folks!
I think the best tomato sandwich is one with homemade sourdough bread and a fresh tomato from your garden or patio that's still warm from the sun. Buying or planting tomatoes in the spring are one of my highlights for the year. I love being able to pull a few off for salads, sandwiches or just on a plate with a little salt.
This may be a little highfalutin' but sometimes I combine the humble tomato sandwich with a Tyler Florence recipe for a grilled cheese. Sourdough bread with pesto sauce (I buy mine, but have made it before with walnuts, easier to find and cheaper than pine nuts) and thick slices of mozzerella and tomato, on a panini press, or if you don't have a panini press, in a cast iron grill pan pressed with a foil covered brick. Yummy!!!
How do you like your 'mater sandwiches and which varieties of tomato do you like to use for sandwiches, salads, sauce etc.? Let us know in the comments!
Bacon is all the rage right now and you all know I prefer to do it in a cast iron skillet but our friend Alton Brown has another, very interesting idea for no turn, no shrink bacon. Cooking our beloved cured pork belly in a waffle iron.
The link below is to the Lifehacker page that has embedded video that skips right to the hot bacony action.
I'm a father of two beautiful daughters and have been married to my amazing wife for 6 years. I play harmonica in and around Birmingham and love music.
