The Summer of....

I wish I had words to describe my daddy, he is the one person I never thought I would need in my life. Now at 28 years old I can never keep the tears back when I think about him, and that is at random moments of every day. Don't worry he's still around, his a McWhorter through and through, I wouldn't surprised if he out lived me. Its just that I haven't been home in over 3 years, and there is no place I would rather be on Earth in snuggled up in my daddy's dirt stained arms.

Every summer of my childhood we had the summer of.........
Sometimes it was watermelon, tomatoes, peanuts, corn, ect. I'm sure you get the point. But I thought I would tell you about the summer of the peanuts coz the way I see it, if your gonna have a summer of something, peanuts are the way to go.



One summer while living in Joppa, Alabama my daddy along with Uncle Wilard planted fields of peanut plants. Once summer was up my daddy pulled all the plants and brought them home. If you don't know anything about harvesting peanuts....consider yourself lucky as all get out! Anyways, peanuts grow on the roots of the peanut plants and you have to pluck them one by one off the bottom of the plant. This took days....hours....and lots of bruises. My sister would often whip then at each other, being 8 years younger...I always ended up wounded and peanuts hurt alot worse then those little green tomatoes.



Ok, carrying on.....

The reason why I say peanuts are the best is because you can have boiled peanuts. Don't even make that 'Ewwwwww' face! You have no idea what you're missin.



Boiled Peanuts

2-5 lbs Jumbo green peanuts are preferred by many, but most standard peanuts work well, so long as they are still green, or uncured (dry). Do not attempt this recipe with roasted peanuts, as they will not become soft, no matter how long you cook them. In the south, farmer's markets and roadside vendors sell green peanuts from early August through mid-October, but the earlier peanuts are usually better for boiling.

Wash peanuts removing loose soil and sprouts, stems, weeds, and leaves. You can place your peanuts in a large pot or bucket and use a sprayer on a garden hose to rinse your peanuts, and when the water floats the nuts, the loose debris will float to the top when the contents of the pot is agitated or stirred.

Place peanuts in a big ol'soup cooker (very large pot) and cover with water add 1 cup salt per gallon of water. To give them a little kick add jalapenos and garlic, or my favorite crab boil seasoning.

Cook for 2-10 hours until yummy. Serve with sweet tea, an extra bowl for the shells, and a great southern story...All Over but the Shoutin by Rick Bragg.