Holiday Charities

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.

Personally my band is doing a toy drive for Jesse's Place. You can read about the show here.

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!

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?

Trucks

Everybody in the south either has a truck, or has access to a truck.  Oftentimes its a pickup truck, but not always.

My first car was my dad's 1977 Cheverolet Suburban.  The color scheme was red, white and rust, and my friends called it . . . The Tank.  It got me to school and I could haul anything in it.  My dad still uses it to carry garbage to the dump and pull his car trailer.  He always said he drove a pickup truck before it was fashionable and my mom used to make him pull behind where she worked when he picked her up so her friends wouldn't see her getting into it. 

Down here even the girls want a pickup truck for their first car.  They have cute vinyl graphics that say, "Cowgirl Up" in pink or "Silly Boys, Trucks are for Girls."  So whether it's an S10, an Explorer, an H2, a Suburban or just a old full size truck enjoy it, you never know when you will need one.

Cast Iron Skillets

People the world over use cast iron skillets. Bacon tastes better cooked in them, pineapple upside down cakes call for 'em and they're good to have around when bad guys break into your house. Well a few years ago they did not come pre-seasoned and I really had no idea how to season one I got as a wedding present. So I used the directions which had something about coating it with vegetable oil and put it in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or an hour or whatever. That method my friends does not work. So I scoured the inter-webs for a solution and here's what I came up with.

You have to have a fair amount of fat which will stick to every part of the pan and you need a lot of heat. So I lubed up the pan with shortening (you gotta have it for biscuits anyway) and set my gas grill to high and left it alone for about 10 minutes or so. INSTANT CAST IRON BLACKNESS! It looked like it had been owned by my Maw Maw! I was stoked and now I hardly use anything else on the stove. I have a skillet, a grill pan, a griddle and a cast iron, enameled dutch oven, all made by Lodge Cookware. It now all comes pre-seasoned, but sometimes you have to re-season it.  

Never wash it with soap and water! You may wash it out with water alone, but make sure you let it dry thoroughly, or put it on low for a little while to evaporate all the water. If I have some schmutz on it I usually get it warm or mostly hot then put a small amount of cold water in it to loosen up the gunk, then it wipes pretty clean with a paper towel. I've also used kosher salt to soak up some the grease then use a paper towel to do a mild scouring with the salt.

Put your cast iron tips in the comments!