grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Archives for 2012

Pepperoni Pizza for Prisoners

By

Ken’s Pizza, Eufaula, Ok

It’s not everyday you get to dine with a prisoner chain gang. Driving to Fayetteville Friday, we stopped for lunch in Eufaula, Oklahoma. According to Urbanspoon, our lunch choices included Ken’s Pizza, a sketchy mexican place and I Smell Bacon. Now, I know exactly what you’re thinking. “How, could you pass up I Smell Bacon?” There was much discussion and debate, but we ended up at Ken’s. John loved Ken’s as a kid, and according to the Eufaula foodies, it had the highest rating on Urbanspoon.


As you might expect, the pizza was cold and cardboardish and rice-cake-like. The salad bar – a nod to 1977 – contained a big center bowl of wilted iceberg lettuce surrounded by smaller bowls of fixins such as cheddar cheese, fake bacon bits, purple onions, beets, tomatoes, broccoli and lots of mayonnaise-y salads like pasta, cole slaw, cottage cheese, and macaroni. And many of the veggies were pickled and vinegary, even the cucumbers which was a jolt to the taste buds. To accompany this, ranch, thousand island and bright glo in the dark orange French, which is what I selected. It was like walking through a worm hole into Ken’s in Osceola. I could see myself sitting in the big corner booth, wearing my cheerleader uniform, with Steve, Norma and Vic – after a high school football game. 

It was 1:00 – apparently closer to siesta time than lunch time in Eufaula. Other than one lone Billy Ray Cyrus lookalike in the corner booth, we were the only patrons. The leftover pizza slices were sadly lying under those warming lights that are less effective than an Easy Bake Oven. Until the prisoners arrived. They had a reservation.

A large table was prepared in the center of the restaurant, with pitchers of iced tea and place settings complete with silverware (including knives) and napkins. Magically, fresh new hot pizza pies were pulled from the ovens, perfectly timed and placed on the buffet just as the Eufaula prison work crew walked inside wearing matching white and orange striped prisonwear. They were accompanied by the sheriff who provided no sense of security or peace of mind whatsoever. He was slow and stooped and was being trusted with two guns. OhGreat! No doubt, we would soon be involved in a Eufaula hostage situation. (My mother has a history with hostages – another story for another day…)


Eufaula Foodies

The pizza waitress became spirited and animated to see the prison work crew – flirting and talking and patting one guy on the shoulder. She probably went to prom with him? Or he was her cousin Bubba? They lined up, piled their plates with food, and then lunched at their reserved table laughing and talking and chowing down like they were VIPs in town scouting movie locations. Were these popular prisoners the Eufaula foodies who rated Ken’s so favorably on Urbanspoon? Luckily they were well behaved. And, thanks to the prisoners, we enjoyed a slice of hot fresh pizza before leaving. 

Did the citizens of this county realize they were paying for the prisoners to eat Ken’s pizza during their litter lunch break? If I go to prison, I want to be on this chain gang. Fresh air and all you can eat pizza buffet.  Of course the horizontal stripes are a bit tough to pull off.


talya

Musical Pairings:

Elvis Presley, “Jailhouse Rock”
Johnny Cash, “Folsom Prison Blues”

“We’re rapidly approaching a world comprised entirely of jail and shopping.”
Doug Coupland (Canadian novelist)

Best restaurant name ever!




A morning without coffee is like sleep.

By

Coffee in my Baylor mug:)

Since leaving my day job, I spend way more money on toilet paper and coffee. I took this perk completely for granted when I worked at the bank. I drink a lot of water; therefore the bathroom is my good friend. I’ve started limiting myself to a couple of squares of toilet paper per potty break, if possible. And, wherever I go – a restaurant, the mall – I make sure to use the facilities, unless of course it’s a disgusting place like most gas stations. 

Coffee is expensive. I long for the free Folgers and french vanilla creamers, although I don’t miss getting up at 5:45 to get there for it. It’s more fun drinking non-free coffee and lactose-free milk at home in my pjs.
I spent last Tuesday morning at the car dealership getting my 50,000 mile service. The facility was relatively new, and I was pleasantly pleased at the awesomeness! Maybe I would start hanging out there regularly instead of the library. There is a ginormous lounge area with soft pleather chairs, tables, desks, free wi-fi and two monster flat screen televisions. Two small refrigerators were stocked with icy water bottles, and the fabulous coffee bar rivaled Starbucks with fancy caramel macchiatos & espresso machines. I almost cheered when I saw my favorite french vanilla creamers. There was hot chocolate and ten flavors of hot tea, including green. Three different flavors of freshly baked muffins were arranged on a silver platter as if they were hosting a sorority tea. That’s when I knew there would most definitely be a critical, non-warranty something wrong with my vehicle. Those macchiato machines don’t come cheap.
car dealership toilet paper

So I loaded up on coffee to the point of shakiness. I read the Wall Street Journal and utilized the free wi-fi. I went to the bathroom twice! The toilet paper was super soft – maybe even Charmin. I should have taken my big purse… I was just beginning to wonder if they brought in turkey wraps at lunchtime, when my service advisor announced my car was ready. Dang.

But, I grabbed a water bottle for the road.

talya

Musical Pairings:

Bob Dylan, “One More Cup of Coffee”
The Beatles, “Drive My Car”

“My aunt in Knoxville would bring newspapers up, which we used for toilet paper. Before we used it, we’d look at the pictures.” Dolly Parton

Lemon Thyme Blackberry Cobbler

By

I gave up dessert for Lent and then to seriously tempt myself, I baked a cobbler. Using my regular super simple blackberry cobbler recipe, I tweaked it by adding lemon zest and thyme. I had a bag of lemons that were staring at me, and I’m always trying to find unusual ways to add herbs. I’m a big believer in herbs – they have tons of antioxidants and health benefits. Plus, herbs are the only crop I can grow in my postage stamp sized yard… I decided if the combo lemon/thyme/blackberry was disgusting, it didn’t much matter, since I couldn’t really eat it anyway. (Lent, you know…) 
Of course, it smelled heavenly. And it looked heavenly. And, as everyone who watches the cooking channel knows, I had to take a teeny tiny sinful bite to make sure it was edible. Very delicious! Both the lemon and thyme added a little something-something to the recipe. I immediately packed up half of it for a few neighbors – get thee behind me cobbler… I left a bit for John’s dessert, and managed to successfully ignore it the remainder of the afternoon.

Like everything I cook – it’s super easy. If the recipe is difficult, I move on to something else. 

Ingredients:
1 cup milk 
1 stick unsalted butter
1 & 1/4 cup of sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
2 cups of blackberries (frozen or fresh)
Zest of 2 large lemons
Fresh Thyme – 2 teaspoons chopped
Method:
Butter + Lemon Zest
1. Melt butter in the microwave. Mix the zest of 2 lemons into the butter. Use a tiny bit of this mixture to butter your baking dish.
2. Rinse and pat dry the blackberries. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of the flour and the thyme together and sprinkle this over the blackberries. Gently Mix.
3. Pour 1 cup of sugar and remaining flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in milk. Mix well. Then, pour melted butter/lemon zest in and whisk it all together.
4. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly.
5. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the top.
6. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until golden and bubbly. About 10 minutes before it is done, you can sprinkle a bit more sugar and thyme over the top if you would like. The sugar will give it a bit of a crust & sparkle on top. And, you probably will have a lot of leftover thyme, so you may as well use a bit more. 
Ready for the oven. See the sprinkles of Thyme on top?
A little shout-out for thyme…  In medieval times it was regarded as the plant that provided courage and vigor. The ancient Romans used it as a treatment for depression. It contains antioxidants and essential oils thought to alleviate stress, provide a calming effect and relieve aches and pains in the joints.  One teaspoon crushed, added to boiling water, steeped for 10 minutes and then strained, makes a great tea which will help with sore throats, coughs and mouth irritations. You can add a bit of honey to sweeten.
talya

Musical Pairings:

The Four Tops, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)
Def Leppard, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!