Okra Cola iPhone App

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!

Friday Fun - Thread Count

Found a post on Consumerist.com about thread count.  This is Aziz Ansari from Parks and Recreation and this bit is pretty funny.  Southern content: He mentions Southern Living.

Aziz Ansari on Conan from Aziz Ansari

It's a little egdy, but very funny in my opinion.

Blogs and Twitterers I Follow

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!
• Wade on Birmingham - Politics and other happenings in and around Birmingham.  Twitter: WadeOnTweets
• Alabama Bloggers - Go here to meet a plethora of Alabama Bloggers and sample a variety of posts too.  Twitter: AlabamaBloggers
• The Final Taxi - Obituaries of the rich and famous.  Twitter: RonNasty
• 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!

Just for fun

After posting Hayseed Dixie's version, I decided that the Muppet version was too good not to post.



No Southern content but fits into the whatever I feel fit to post category.

Bluegrass Covers of Rock Songs

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.

Here's a video of them doing Bohemian Rhapsody.


Found via Neatorama.com

Hayseed Dixie
Their alter-ego is the Kerosene Brothers.
Here's an interview from CountryStandardTime.com

Test Post

This is a test of the Okra Cola testing network.  If this were a real emergency you would be told where to find the nearest fried food and/or bourbon should any still be available.  Thank you!

WERTSMU8SZHS

Pocket Knife

Most Southern gentlemen carry a pocket knife.  Now just because you do doesn't make you a gentleman, and just because you don't doesn't mean you aren't one either.

It's a great tool to have.  You can whittle, open packages, cut food and make a kids size straw (a very handy daddy trick) along with other helpful uses.  I remember my Paw Paw cutting a BBQ in half for me when I was young with his.  My dad said he saw older guys outside the courthouse carving wooden chains out of a single block of wood.

I recently got a good small pocket knife from my father-in-law for Christmas that I keep in my watch pocket and I use it more than I thought I would.  I used to have a larger Swiss Army Knife, but it was a little too big, the one I have now is light and goes in my change tray at the end of the day.

Lady's, if you have a man in your life that doesn't have a small 2 1/2" to 3" pocket knife (folded) get him one, for his birthday, Valentine's Day or Father's Day.

What do you use your knife for?

Southern Word of the Week - Swig

(v.) Can I get a swig of your coke?
(n.) Do you have a swig left in your glass so I can take this medicine?

A swig is either taking a sip of a drink or how much you have left in your cup or can.  My grandmother would also use swaller (like swallow) the same way.  "Can I have some of that?  I just need a swaller."

The other day someone used swig and it was an odd usage, not that they didn't do it right, but it wasn't something I expected to hear from them.

Do you use swig, or is there another regional word thats similar?

Southern Hospitality - Opening Doors

My cousin brought a girl originally from New Hampshire down to a wedding at our church.  While chatting with my wife she said something to the effect of, "Why is everyone opening doors for me?  I can get my own door."  It seems that she missed the point.  Down here gentleman open doors for women.  Heck, we open doors and hold doors open for just about everybody.

I'm sure the South isn't the only place we open doors and hold doors open, but there are a lot of people that come down here that mention how nice everyone is and that somebody always hold doors open for others.

I just wish people had that kind of hospitality in the parking lot.  I hate getting a spot I've staked out for a while stolen out from under me, but that's a different post all together.

Do you hold doors for people?  Do you not like having people help you with doors?  Let us know in the comments.

The Southern Accent

If you've spent time in different parts of the South, even just different parts of a Southern state, you know there isn't just one.  When I started high school there was one guy named JoJo and it took me about a week to get used to his speach patterns because he spoke fast and with an accent that was a little different than one I was used to.  He went to a different elementary school from me and just that little bit of distance made a lot of difference in how we talked.

I've met very few people with a "magnolia" accent. It's kind of the Old Southern accent you would see in a movie at a plantation house or something out of Gone with the Wind.  It's when a person would say something like, "Why, whateva fowa?" ("Why, whatever for.") Southern accents are known for extra syllables, and in this magnolia accent it is even more pronounced. I have not heard it often, but when I have, it has been by older ladies and I always have to listen hard to find out if it is a put-on, and usually it is not. I enjoy accents and always ask people where they are from if they have an pleasantly interesting accent.

Please do not tell a Southerner they have a funny accent, especially if you are in their neck of the woods.  If you are not from the South and are sitting in Birmingham, Alabama and think that the person you are talking to has a very Southern accent; they don't, you do.  Also, please don't ask anyone with a unique accent to, "say something."  It puts people on the spot, makes them self concious and is, in my opinion at least a little rude.  If you like an accent just say, "you have a wonderful accent."

Here's something interesting A Dialect Map of American English.

Hot Sauce

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.

Found this via Lifehacker.com
I especially like:

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?

Here's the link at SeriousEats.com

Southern Word of the Week - Sack

(n.) [to a person in the grocery store] Can you put all my cold cuts in the same sack?
(v.) I'm just going to sack up all these leftovers so y'all can have something for lunch tomorrow.

Sack is a bag of some sort.  Paper, plastic even a canvas tote bag can be refered to as a sack.  The plastic kind are known for their versitility.  As a trash can liner for small cans such as one found in a bathroom.  A used plastic sack can also be used to carry lunches in. 

That's about all I've got for this one.  Hopefully y'all will have something for me in the comments.

Southern Weddings

Many weddings up North, and around the world have huge, elaborate ceremony's and a reception that's even more elaborate.  Sit down dinners, open (or cash) bar and a live band or D.J. to cap the night off.  Down here, it's not always like that.  Don't get me wrong, I've been to plenty of weddings here that meet some of these qualifications, but many more don't.

Down here you get to the wedding and it is usually pretty full of music and a some very nice stories of the Bride and Groom, more music and you are usually walking or driving to the reception in about 30 minutes.  At the reception you have a few options: cake, mints, nuts, sherbet and ginger ale/lemon-lime punch.  At the fancier weddings you'll have some additions: fruit, meatballs, and chicken fingers all buffet style.  Catholic weddings usually have the additions above as well as beer, wine and a D.J.

The thing I like about weddings in the South is the fellowship with the wedding party.  At sit down dinner weddings you get placed by folks you sometimes don't know and the only thing y'all have in common is knowing one or the other person getting married.  At Southern weddings you get to see everyone, and that everyone may only be 50 people. 

If you do get married anywhere I suggest a receiving line. It may make some of your guests uncomfortable, but it leaves you more free for the rest of the reception because you've already spoken to everyone once. 

Got a wedding story or comment?  Post them in the comments.


NOTE : I know that niether Ronald Reagan nor his wife were from the South, but it is a copyright free picture of a wedding and I thought it worked.

Southern Hospitality - Sir and Ma'am

Yes or no sir and yes or no ma'am is taught from the time a child is able to speak.  You just don't say yes, no, uh-huh, nuh-huh, most of those are not excepted in the house, or your Paw-Paw's house.  It's just what is done down here.

I have another friend that did some growing up here, then moved up to Ohio.  She actually got in trouble for saying "no ma'am" to her teacher because her teacher thought she was getting smart or sassy.  Are you kidding me!  I just don't know if I could comfortably living in a world where kids didn't say yes and no ma'am.

Cultures have things like this built into the language to honor elders and people of a certain stature.  They are called honorifics and I feel it puts us and our dialect into a different category and it could be a reason we see things differently down here (see the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis).

Have a yes and no ma'am/sir story?  Tell us about them in the comments.

Game Day Drinks

Here are a few drink recipes I thought some of you may enjoy.  If you are underage please only drink cokes and sweet tea!

Alabama Slammer (shots for 4)
1 shot Sloe Gin
1 shot Amaretto
1 shot SoCo
1 shot OJ

Shake with ice and strain into 4 shot glasses.  Enjoy!

Yellow Hammer
From: http://donyaua.blogspot.com/2007/08/gameday-101.html

The Mother of All Gameday Drinks, THE YELLOW HAMMER- This is the ultimate gameday drink for a real Bama fan. This is my ultimate favorite and I usually drank one before every game during my student days at UA. This drink can only be bought at a bar called Galette’s and since open container laws apparently do not apply during gamedays don’t worry about walking to and fro with your beverage in hand. The Yellow Hammers ingredients remain a mystery but as far as I can tell this is the list. Pinapple, orange, banana juice, Vodka, Light Rum, Geradine, a splash more of orange juice and a splash of Gin. Top it with a cherry and you are good to go! There is no better way to get pumped up to cheer on the Tide!

Just for fun:
The Bear Bryant

A friend of mine originally from Tuscaloosa said it isn't gameday unless you have some bourbon and Coke.  I have my Old Crow waiting.

What're y'all doing for the game?  Let me know in the comments

Coke - Soft Drinks - Soda

In the South you can ask for Sweet Tea, lemonade or three fingers of Jack Daniel's without any problems, but when you ask for a Coke some folks will ask you what kind. 

This confuses some people, not often at resturants, but at private homes they will often ask what kind you'd like. "A Coke," could be your answer but down here a Coke is any soft drink.  My wife often asks for a Coke and when I'll ask her what kind she'll say, "I don't care" meaning any soft drink will do. 

A Coke is synonomis with a soda but you'll find few people to say that down here.  It's a very yankee thing to say and you'll probably get looked at weird.  It's just something we grew up with and it's part of what makes us Southern.

Got any Coke/Soda stories?  Share them in the comments.

Snow in the South

Today Birmingham is a abuzz about this snow thing.  Some of you not from the South may not know how we deal with it down here, so I am here to enlighten.

When we first hear talk of snow on the news a week out many people shrug it off and kinda dismiss it; it is a great way for people to watch the news at noon, 6 and 10pm.  But as it creeps up on the date and the forcast still predicts it people start going into panic mode.  Milk and bread fly off store shelves, I assume that milk sandwiches are a delicacy during power outages and during threats of snow.  Of course you must have milk for snow ice cream (Fresh, clean snow, and a bit of vanilla to taste and milk to thin it out into a slush) and you must have bread for sandwiches.

People panic to the point that even right now one school system has said they would be closed tomorrow and Friday, and the snow is at least 24 hours from even showing itself in Alabama.  Schools let out sometimes when the see snow, see snow stick and sometimes just because it is threating.  A few times my school was canceled because it was "too cold."  Of course some peopole aren't as concerned with the weather as much as the National Championship game with James Spann getting threats if he breaks in with weather info. 

Also, if a Southerner mentions a blizzard to you (especially the Blizzard of '93) please don't laugh.  A snow storm or any accumulation will often shut down a city. We just don't often have to deal with it so we don't have the equipment and knowledge we need when it does snow every 2 to 3 years.  One northern transplant said even he wouldn't get on the roads down here, even though he was used to it becuase of all the people who were driving crazy. 

So if it snows enjoy and if it doesn't stay warm, don't run generators indoors, make sure you have milk and bread, and make sure pets are warm and safe.  Oh, and don't forget to wear your toboggan.

Southern Word of the Week - Cut on and cut off

(v.) Cut that light on right quick so I can see what I'm doing.
(v.) Cut the fan off when you leave so you don't waste power.
(v.) Cut the heat down, I'm about to burn slap up in here!

To cut something on or off is to apply power to, or cut power off to an electric device such as a light, fan, or heating and cooling unit.

Some people argue cut would mean to stop something from happening, or to interrupt an action, but for whatever reason to us it means that if something is on, turn (cut) it off and if something is off, turn (cut) it on.

Happy New Year!!!

It's 2010!  Can you believe it?

In the South you have certain things you have to eat on New Year's day: black eyed peas and greens.  It is said if you do you'll have luck throughout the next year.  I usually soak my black eyed peas the night before because the quick soak which is boiling them fast for a while then letting them soak for an hour breaks them up too much and they aren't as good in my opinion.  After the soak drain and rinse them then recover them with water and add your pork (bacon, ham bone, fatback, jowl or any pork you have handy), bring to a boil and simmer until they're as tender as you'd like.

Eating greens is another Southern tradition and I'm told eating them will bring money in the new year.  My family never has eaten many greens, but we do eat something green with our peas.  I hardly ever see collard greens at the store in the produce section, but saw a boatload this past week because of this tradition. 

As you can see there is a new look for the site and now I own OkraCola.com!  My goal was to have it up by the new year and I'm amazed that I actually did.  If you have suggestions or comments please send them to drew [at] okracola.com.

Happy 2010 y'all!