§ By cracky...I think I've got it.

Not often do I promote a product. I always take note that my opinion is hardly ever what others think, so I refrain from handing out free publicity to any certain item being sold; retail. Tastes are not always what others would like. But...Several weeks ago, while going through the grocery store aisles, I happened to catch a glimpse of a display case at the end/or beginning of one lane that said "Made in Texas". Well, naturally, being a Texan [I wasn't born here, but got here as quickly as I could], I had to stop and take notice. The display case was filled with small snack-sized bags of "Poppers"...with the name large in print and quite prideful...Texas "FIRECRACKERS". There were two flavors...original and Chipotle Lime. I reached for one bag of the 'original recipe'....got home and opened them to snack on while putting the groceries away. They're shaped just like oyster/soup crackers...a great size for snackin'.

says Anni: "Oh Bud, you should try these crackers. They're darned good!!"

Bud grabs just one from the bag and comments they ARE good.

Munchin' away on another handful...
Anni comments: "I think they'll become my newest addiction."

There's a little kick to them. A bit spicy and tasty like the spirit of Texas!! After the initial awakening of the zest and zip, you won't be able to just eat one. [Unless you don't like fiery foods]

Well, I'll tellya right now, they ARE addictive, goes well with soups, chili, beer and margaritas. I'm hooked. And I just KNOW since I love 'em so, they're probably not good for me. Anything I like [processed snack foods] are quite unhealthy I'm sure. But, if there has to be one vice I couldn't give up so easily, these are it. It's quoted as this being said about them for over a century: "They’re kinda' hot and darn good, can I have another?"

And they're now sold in a lot of grocery retailers and convenience stores throughout Texas. But, the reason I'm posting about these delicious devils...anyone can now buy them online and have them shipped to their homes.

Where to buy in Texas: Listings

or

Purchase them: ONLINE

Also worth reading if you're interested: The recipe began with a Cherokee Indian, during the days of Sam Houston.

Oh....and by the way, I found this nutrition info online:
[click to enlarge]

[the sodium content is a bit high....but could be worse I guess...just consume plenty of fluids to wash out the salt from you system...and you're good to go] -pun intended!!!


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§ A 'shadowy' existence - amongst the dust?

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Broken shell washed ashore..
with a bit of seaweed clinging..



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SUNDAY'S SUMMARY


Well, with Spring just around the corner here in Coastal Texas, [the trees will be budding out in a week or two] it's time for me to start preparing for the annual Spring Cleaning inside before the weather turns ideal in a couple of weeks. I tellya, I've really been lax at keeping the house dust free this past year. And it shows. I just know when I begin the ten room chore, I am gonna find all kinds of webs in the corners and around the ceiling and light fixtures. Yep, that's just how lazy I've been this time. I never kept up with it for some reason...and I'm gonna pay the price. A couple of weeks ago, I started decluttering some things. Books, clothes in the closet, shoes, and such. But nearly not enough. It's time!! And I'm pretty sure, I'll begin in a day or two. When I look at all the dust accumulated to the point where I could write volumes in it, I know it's time. I may seem to have fallen off the face of blog world for a few days, but you'll know where I am. And sure, I'll keep posting with posts that are pre scheduled in draft, but I probably won't be around to do much visiting each day.

Now, back to writing about the past week in summary. The only thing that got accomplished outside the house this week was...I had gone to get my hair trimmed and thinned out for Spring. That's always a given these days now that I am trying to keep my hairstyle short. While the ground is still under a bit of winterkill [the grass mostly] there is a lot of work to do outdoors also. I cleaned out one of the rose gardens, but only of weeds. The bushes will need trimming back once the weather begins to warm more. I accomplished making some meals to freeze so when I do start house cleaning, I won't have to prepare full meals...just get something out of the freezer and reheat. We went for a couple of walks only because of nasty weather. One day along the beach...........FINALLY!! Combing the area of our two hour walk, I found very few items. But it was still just so very nice to be able to get outdoors and walk in what lately has been a so very absent sun. We both sat on the jetty for a few minutes and just watched the sea birds and listened to the pounding surf. After that, we stopped at our favorite bookstore and searched for some bargains. I found three. One that I have been wanting to REread...Grisham's "The Client" [I, personally, think this is his all-time BEST novel], "A Woman Called Moses" about Harriet Tubman, and one genre I don't really read a lot of, but the title was a subject I've always liked to read about and that is Jack the Ripper...the book is a Sherlock Holmes novel, "The Whitechapel Horrors". Yep, I'm gonna keep myself busy, reading, cleaning and eating in the next few days/week. I'm sure I'll enjoy the eating best of all. LOL But, once the house is cleaned from ceiling to floor, I'll be very pleased to have Stanley Steamer come out and shampoo the carpeting throughout the house. It too is in dire need.

cleaning equipment graphic courtesy of Google Images

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It's time for my Tuesday meme....Heads or Tails. This week Barb [aka Skittles] has the option is:
HEADS - Anything starting with the letter O
as in:

OMG!

Now, honestly, my family loves the 'hot and spicy'. The hotter and spicier the food is, the better it tastes/tasted. We even had a ritual when a new member joined the family. Seriously. And it involved jalapeno peppers. Grown in my father's acre garden yearly. You see, if you keep the seeds in the pepper when freezing or canning, the hotter they remain. We'd use jalapenos a LOT in cooking, snacking, eating. I have two sisters-in-law of the Spanish American descent, and one really knows how to cook! She has taught me how to make everything under the sun, including my own homemade tortillas...right up to fresh, homemade sopapillas! In fact she is the one that got us started with our 'love affair' with Mexican peppers and all their uses in some of the best meals this side of Timbuktu!!

Oh, the ritual was....picture this. My Dad at the dining room table, catching up on all the news we could use with family things, etc. In walks the 'new' person. We all gather around the table and just spend hours chatting, eventually bringing out the beers and the cards and playing while snacking. Soon, it's ritual time! Dad brings out the jalapeno peppers. He takes the whole pepper, seed and all, by the stem, and bites down. Consuming the whole thing. [There have been times his eyes would water and he'd break out in a sweat the pepper was so spicy!]. He'd then take a big swig of his icy beer that was sitting so conveniently at his side.

Then, as we all knew what would come next, except for the new guy, the test began....

"Here, try these Bud." "They're crisp, tender, juicy and delicious"...."Trust me.", as he hands Bud the jalapeno.

Bud or the new guy, would take my Dad's word for it, and bite in. We all sat in anticipation, waiting for the sweat to ooze and the tongue to swell with the heat, and then it hits!!!

Gulping and reaching for the beer..."WoW, that puppy's hot!"

And we all laughed.

---

There, you know now I grew up with spicy foods! And Bud and I are totally disappointed in the so called Mexican Food Restaurants AND the salsa and picante sauces that are found on the grocery shelves around here in south Texas. Why, they don't know what hot is. It's all mislabeled here. They have printed on the labels --"HOT" and has the red 'warning' lid/cap on the bottles. So the consumer knows it's hot and spicy. We laugh. The stuff doesn't even give us a buzz! Mild. Way too mild.

Until just the other day...

We're at H E B [a local grocery chain in Texas that began here in Corpus] store. I was just going up and down the aisles looking for 'munchies'. Nachos sounded fantastic. I pick up the 'low in fat' corn chips and some non fat refried beans. I was then thinking of making my own salsa. But, I spied this at the canned tomato section ----

It's store brand, but the label says "Extra Hot". I read the back side, actually just the ingredients to make sure there was no MSG in the processing. I didn't read the KIND of peppers used. But the extra hot got me. I thought, it'd be good for dipping and topping our nachos. I got it home, opened the can, drained the juice in a coffee cup. As I was making the salsa I sipped some of the juice....that's where the "O" comes in this week....

OMG!!! It burned, it burned all the way down. I could feel my innards heat up as the juice went down the esophagus. FIRE!!! Next two words spoken by me was "hory sh!t" [yes, hory, my tongue was stinging so badly the 'L' turned into an 'R'] Then, I turned the can around, clearing the tears away...reading more---

This is where I choked. As always, there is a 'need' to refrigerate the unused leftovers. BUT!! It also says at the bottom of the label to store in PLASTIC CONTAINER...I'M thinking...no way José!!! it'd EAT right through the plastic!! Why, it even singed the hair out my nose!! Reason - Habanero peppers!!! [the hottest of all peppers]

But, oh was it all ever so good, after the first shock wave. VERY good. For caution's sake, I consumed some ice cream for dessert. And by next morning I was begging for the ice cream to hurry and pass through my system, believe me!!!