Saturday, June 16, 2018

Southernness


I woke up this morning and the bed felt so good and I had my pillows arranged around me as if I was being hugged by gentle feathery arms encased in smooth clean linen and I did not want to get up. I was in heaven and how could the day get any better than it was right then? 
I did get up though, of course, and when I got to the kitchen and greeted my husband I told him that I wanted to just spend the entire day in bed which piqued his interest but he knew that the chances of me being healthy and spending all day in bed were nil, plus he was anxious to get into town to rent a special tile-cutting saw for the fancy part of his bathroom project. 
And all of this has been ironic because I've had the busiest Saturday I've probably had in a long time. Laundry, of course, and plenty of it and the regular chores and then I went to Monticello to the Tractor Supply and bought a new hanging chicken feeder and a hanging chicken drinker. They are not called "waterers" they are called "drinkers". 
Now I know. 
I have given up on finding the perfect feeders and drinkers (hmmm...sounds like a description of me) but I keep spending good money on ones I don't like. We have a feeder made of some sort of metal but I fucking hate it and it doesn't work the way it should and dealing with it every morning (which I should not have to do) while the mosquitoes attack me is unpleasant to say the least. 
But anyway, blah, blah, blah. I got new ones. 
And then I went to the Winn Dixie because I believe that we are having a little Father's Day brunch action tomorrow and I needed to get things for that. Which I did. 
And then I came home and unloaded everything and took the trash and recycle stuff to the trash depot and then I did more laundry and unloaded the dishwasher and started boiling peanuts (see above) because the Winn Dixie had large bags of green ones for just that purpose and there is nothing quite as good as boiled peanuts and if you've never had them, I am sorry for you. 
You have to boil them in the saltiest water imaginable for far longer than you'd think necessary but it's worth it. 
I have also made enough angel biscuit dough for two Father's Day brunches and I've yet to start supper which is going to be shrimp and grits. 

Southern enough yet? 

Tractor supply, Winn Dixie, chicken accessories, boiled peanuts. What have I missed? Oh yeah. Angel biscuits. And shrimp and grits. 

I also spent some time today perusing old cookbooks from churches and women's clubs that I've collected over the years which contain not one salad which does not involve jello nor one casserole which does not contain cream of something soup. 
Well. This recipe contains neither but the pound of Velveeta (POUND) makes up for those glaring omissions. 


This is from the cookbook that Mr. Moon's aunt (may she rest in peace) gave to me and she circled the name of the recipe originator because he was her son-in-law. I swear to god that I really want to make this. 
First off all- a pound of Velveeta. 
Secondly- sour cream AND mayonnaise. 
Shut the front door, y'all. 
You could mix any damn thing in the world with these three items and bake it all in a casserole dish and it would be awesome. 
Squash, noodles, ground beef, tuna, chicken, rice, eggplant, corn, regular potatoes, spinach, broccoli, cabbage. Lobster and caviar and boiled eggs. Boiled peanuts. Stale bread. Squirrel and Ritz Crackers. Rabbit and saltines. Quinoa and kale. It just doesn't matter. 
The addition of a little sippin' sherry would make it both gourmet and genteel. Adding a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom would get you a blue ribbon at the county fair. 

Needless to say, I am not making that hash brown casserole for brunch tomorrow but I absolutely must add that it was the same aunt who gave me the cookbook who passed on her recipe for angel biscuits. I will never forget a meal at her house with many relatives where the first faux pas I made was sitting in HER chair and the second was starting to eat before grace had been said at which point she probably deeply regretted giving me her recipe for the angel biscuits. 

All right. I need to go peel about a hundred shrimp the size of my thumbnail. And put on the stoneground grits which take an hour to cook. And peel and chop shallots and garlic. 
There will be no Velveeta or cream of anything in my supper tonight and I sort of wish there was going to be. Velveeta grits will bring all the boys to your front yard. It's a southern secret but I have given of it freely to you. Use this information responsibly. 
Okay? 

Love...Ms. Moon





28 comments:

  1. I think shrimp and grits is my very favorite meal....and paired with angel biscuits? Omg. I just had my dinner and you've made me hungry all over again!

    I also love boiled peanuts, btw.

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    1. Those shrimp and grits were amazingly good. Worth every peeled shrimp. And I did steal some of the Father's Day biscuit dough to bake with them. It was pretty much a perfect meal.

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  2. that casserole is what we call wedding/ funeral potatoes here...

    xxalainaxx

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  3. My hubby loves grits, and orders them for almost every meal we eat at a restaurant while we're in Florida. I'd love to cook them for him myself, but I have far too many questions...regular or stone ground? Are they good leftover? What stuff can I mix in? Oh, and the Angel biscuit recipe would be great!

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    1. Oh, and as for boiled peanuts? Sorry, but YUCK!

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    2. I would always go for stone ground over regular but that means a lot more cooking time. Still- worth it. Leftover grits can be sliced and fried after they've been refrigerated or just reheated with some water. Still very good. I don't generally mix anything in with my grits except cheese perhaps. The angel biscuit recipe can be found here: http://www.blessourhearts.net/search?q=angel+biscuit+recipe
      Or you could just google them.
      Have you had good boiled peanuts or just the crap they sell in cans?

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  4. Oh my, Ms. Moon, thanks for a good laugh. I read it to my husband but he didn't find it nearly as funny as I did. My mom couldn't fix a company meal without the requisite jello salad, yuck. And don't get me started on Velveeta cheese . . . Becky

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    1. For my family, jello salad mainly appeared at Thanksgiving. It was fancy. I still sometimes crave canned pears in jello. The Velveeta was for holiday meals mostly too. Mother melted Velveeta over extremely cooked broccoli and I loved it, knowing no better.

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  5. Velveeta grits will bring all the boys to your front yard?...I swear I just spit my drink out of my nose laughing. Thanks for that one. You made my night. X

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    1. Well, I didn't make up that saying. I just made it about Velveeta grits. But I always find it amusing.

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  6. I must try Velveeta, grits and boiled peanuts. I must then try Velveeta and grits again and see which sugar daddy man knocks on my front door. Hashed browns nuf said.

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    1. I think you'd be more apt to get a redneck than a sugar daddy but try and see! And report in!

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  7. Yum yum yum. What do you eat WITH the casserole?

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    1. Well, eggs and sausage and bacon and biscuits. Of course!

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  8. boiled peanuts? Well, we don't have green peanuts up here in the great NW so I'll just have to imagine.

    I'm googling angel biscuits...

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  9. Oh my, you’ve made me so hungry (and I almost forgot to empathize over your wish to spend the day in bed but then do a week’s worth of tasks instead.). Love good boiled peanuts - I’ve had them wonderfully fresh in N FL, and old and mushy in S FL. But mostly: angel biscuits! Is the recipe private? Or can it be shared??

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    1. The recipe Aunt Ann gave me is this one: http://www.blessourhearts.net/search?q=angel+biscuit+recipe
      But you can google it and find some other good recipes. They're basically all alike.
      And yeah, old mushy boiled peanuts suck.

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  10. You've got your work cut out for you! I've never even heard of angel biscuits, I must admit, but I have had plenty of "bolled" peanuts. All you need now is some collards for that casserole! Or black-eyed peas! Or both!

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    1. Collards and Velveeta...
      I'm pondering that one.

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  11. never had a boiled peanut in my life....do they get soft and mushy? That casserole literally looks *to die* for.....but I bet it's darned tasty. I got some *womens club* cookbooks from Mom after she passed....... not healthy recipes but I'm sure very tasty. Maybe one of these days (when Mr Moon goes hunting or fishing) you CAN stay in bed all day . ;-)
    Susan M

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    1. Boiled peanuts should not be real soft and never mushy. They wouldn't want to come out of the shell if they were.
      Those cookbooks are just really fun to read. Actually making the recipes isn't recommended. At least in my opinion.

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  12. mary, you are funny. i felt in this post as if I was in the kitchen with you, following along, delighted by all your southern secrets. love it.

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    1. I like it when my brain goes into funny mode. I wish it did that more often.

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