Oklahoma Cooking: Cheesy Spring Green Grits

Across Oklahoma today, the wind is preparing to sweep across the plain. Big time.

I planted my peppers and tomatoes last Saturday, and Mick promptly dug them up and stored them in our garage last night! Why? Evidently storms are coming: thunder, lightening, rain, hail, possible tornadoes and ice? Yes!

While outside surveying what plants we were willing to gamble on this upcoming craziness, I pulled/cut four ingredients for the kitchen:  chives, green garlic, cilantro and asparagus.  I just turned them into a truly dandy meal I’ll call “Cheesy Spring Green Grits.”  Prep time, five minutes.  Cook time, 5-8 minutes.  Eating time, [you fill in the blank].

Bring 2 1/4 cups of water to a boil.  Then…
Add 1.5 Tablespoons minced chives, two medium spears of asparagus chopped into bite-sized pieces, 1 tsp. ground pepper, one clove green minced garlic head (this is just new garlic, use regular dried bulbs if you don’t have any) and 1/2 cup quick grits.  Stir occasionally so that it doesn’t boil over.  While this is cooking, wrap 1 or 2 slices of bacon in a paper towel and microwave for 1.5 minutes.

Once the grits are done to your preferential thickness texture, turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Spoon into ramekins or other serving bowls, and top with crumbled bacon and chopped cilantro.

I ate mine while I was typing this post.  Bon apetit!

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How Do You Say That?

In honor of tonight’s NCAA Men’s basketball final between Louisville and Michigan, don’t you think it’s about time to revisit Southwestern Oklahoma – home to some of the best small school basketball teams – and make sure we know how to pronounce those town names?  Just in case you’re wondering how to pronounce the capital of Kentucky, it is pronounced, “FRANK-fort”.

Red Dirt Kelly gave birth to the Red Dirt Chronicles just a few short years ago. Since that time she has posted Red Dirt trivia questions on Facebook about all things related to Oklahoma. My favorite trivia questions are the ones that focus on Oklahoma places. When it comes to Oklahoma place names, the trivia can include more than just location, it might even pull out the old “how do you pronounce . . .” routine. As Jeff Foxworthy might say: “You might be from Oklahoma if you know how to say ‘Gotebo’, ‘Hobart’, ‘Eufaula’, Oologah, or Skiatook.”

Southwestern Oklahoma has its fair share of names that make you either grin or raise an eyebrow before attempting to say them. Go pack a snack now, and a tall glass of sweet iced tea, and we’ll take us a little road trip around Southwestern Oklahoma and discover some of these places. Leave your GPS devices at home for this trip – just pick up a copy of the free map of Oklahoma that the tourism department provides. It’ll save you a hundred bucks or so, and give you a better idea of where you are going.

Driving along US 62, halfway between Altus and Lawton, there is that sign that says “Gotebo –>”. Gotebo is one of those place names that exposes the non-Oklahoma roots of weather reporters. Very few know that it sounds just the way it is spelled, “go-tee-bo” with all long vowels. Gotebo is located in Kiowa County, at the junction of State Highways 9 and 54. It was founded around 1901 and has a current population of 226.

Northwest of Gotebo is Retrop. Some may wonder where this strange name came from, but it is quite simple, really. Spell it backwards and you have the surname of the first family to settle in Retrop. When the town applied for a post office, they discovered there was a town in Indian Territory named “Porter”. When word came back to Retrop about Porter, the forefathers said, “Let’s just spell it backwards.” Retrop is located on the Washita/Beckham county line, along State Highway 6, not too far down the road from Sentinel.

Up the road a ways from Retrop are two towns located a few miles apart on either side of State Highway 54, and nearly always paired together on the highway signs. Corn and Colony are their names. I’m not sure if they grow corn in Corn, or if any colonists remain in Colony, but I do know that one has family ties to John Denver. Continue reading How Do You Say That?

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Flowers in the Attic

I recall being obsessed with the V.C. Andrews “Flowers in the Attic” book series as a student in junior high and high school.

I thought about that book series as I stared at a 6 cent FDR stamp postmarked 1968.  I’ve been cleaning my own attic on and off for the past month.  As I was going through a box of childhood keepsakes, I came across a postcard sent to me by my Aunt Virginia.

Aunt Virginia loves flowers, her back yard is full of them.  When I visit her, I usually end up with a few cuttings or bulbs.  From her flower beds to mine, she shares her blooms, and they keep giving color to my yard year after year.

The back of the postcard was yellowed, and her message had been written in pencil.  The faded handwriting was a stark contrast to the Oklahoma travel photos on the front.  A 1960s black and white reel-to-reel news voice popped into my head as I read the description of the photos:

The front of this card shows only a few of the natural and man-made attractions which make Oklahoma a vacation adventureland. (Compliments of Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.  Not to be sold.)

As I read through her message, I realized she had written a poem and included me, her daughter (my cousin Julie) and my brother in the lines:

Dear Kelly,

I raised my head and looked at the World

And there was Kelly, a nice little girl

We played and ate ice cream and had lots of fun

Although cowgirl Julie was wearing a gun,

You got out the dolls and the dishes for a tea,

While Julie and little Quentin were running free,

Be a sweet little girl and always act nice

And the next time I see you I’ll kiss you twice.

Aunt Virginia

I re-read the poem a couple of times and thought, “I have my own flowers in the attic.  They’re from Aunt Virginia, given to me when I was five.  And now that I’ve found them, they’ll keep blooming – just like the perennials from her in my flower beds – adding color to my soul, year after year.”

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On the Horizon: A Real Go-Getter!

Recently I spent a day with a young person who I greatly respect after following her around for the day. She is a straight “A” student and has been all her life but not only is she smart, she is athletic as well. It was fun to watch her with her classes because she enjoys them so much. From a class in graphic communications which she plans on making her career to an AP Literature class, Kelsey completely absorbs herself in whatever it is she is doing.

Now her athletic abilities have D-1 schools clamoring after her to come to their school. But she is quick to tell them “My career is going to be in graphic communications do you have that at your school?” She is completely focused in the right area of her life. I’m so impressed that she doesn’t let the attraction of so many schools wanting her go to her head.

In this week’s video blog, you can see how much enthusiasm Kelsey McClure has and the determination to make her future count.
Alisa Hines

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On The Horizon: Greyson’s Advocates

Written Aug 26, 2011 11:40am
We are saying goodbye to our precious baby today. Giving family a chance to say their goodbyes, including Tucker. Then we will send everyone away so Austin & I can be alone with him once he’s off the machines. Just the 3 of us, like the day he was born. We will let everyone know arrangements once they are done. Thank you all for your love, support & prayers. Greyson will have a great time in heaven listening to my dad & all his grandpas tell tall tales with sweet ChiChi laying beside him.

Written Aug 26, 2011 7:16pm
Greyson has gone.

Those were words friends of mine wrote the day their precious baby boy, Greyson, died. Heart wrenching for a parent to have to write much less read. I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes just trying to write this and both my children are grown and healthy. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering my friends went through. It breaks my heart thinking about it knowing that there was something that could have been done at the start that might have prevented his death.

You see he had a congenital heart defect. Greyson’s specific condition is called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. His left ventricle did not properly develop, so he basically had only the right side of his heart. There is a test hospitals can do to detect this defect and begin treatment immediately but unfortunately, most hospitals don’t perform this test (it only costs $10) and the hospital where Greyson was born, at the time, didn’t choose to perform the test. They do now thanks to the brave parents of little Greyson who decided their baby boy wasn’t going to die in vain.

In this week’s video blog, meet Greyson’s parents, Austin and Melissa Moore, and hear their story and what’s being done to help prevent future parents from going through what they’ve been through.
Alisa Hines

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Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.