Last Saturday Jennie and I were waiting for our breakfast at The Waffle Shop, and we started to eavesdrop on the couple next to us. Eavesdropping isn't difficult at The Waffle Shop, because everybody is seated in close proximity at an undulating counter.
The Guy was trying to explain to the The Girl with the Foreign Accent the mystery and wonderfulness of grits. When he said, "Grits are hard to describe. They're kinda' like cream of wheat" my head whipped around and I said, "Cream of wheat isn't exactly right" and I proceeded to launch into a description of the manufacture and preparation of grits.
The Girl still looked a little confused. I said, They're in the same family as polenta...which is also made from corn. The Girl visibly brightened and said, Oh...I understand.
The Guy said, I'm from Boston. Jennie and I looked knowingly at each other, and we asked, How far south have you traveled? He said, This is it. Jennie and I looked at each other again and we said, You need to travel further south. Grits are a Southern thing.
The Guy said, I would try them again. I would even make grits. I've seen instant grits in the store.
Jennie and I winced. Jennie said, Don't eat instant grits. It's worse than eating instant oatmeal.
I told The Guy to go to the Food Network website and find a recipe for grits that's by Paula Deen. He looked confused. I said, Paula Deen is from Savannah. She knows how to make grits.
The Guy said, Ok.
I turned to Jennie and asked, It was ok to butt in, right?
Jennie said, Absolutely. If you hadn't, I would have. We're from the South, and we couldn't let him say grits are like cream of wheat.
And she is absolutely right.
The Guy was trying to explain to the The Girl with the Foreign Accent the mystery and wonderfulness of grits. When he said, "Grits are hard to describe. They're kinda' like cream of wheat" my head whipped around and I said, "Cream of wheat isn't exactly right" and I proceeded to launch into a description of the manufacture and preparation of grits.
The Girl still looked a little confused. I said, They're in the same family as polenta...which is also made from corn. The Girl visibly brightened and said, Oh...I understand.
The Guy said, I'm from Boston. Jennie and I looked knowingly at each other, and we asked, How far south have you traveled? He said, This is it. Jennie and I looked at each other again and we said, You need to travel further south. Grits are a Southern thing.
The Guy said, I would try them again. I would even make grits. I've seen instant grits in the store.
Jennie and I winced. Jennie said, Don't eat instant grits. It's worse than eating instant oatmeal.
I told The Guy to go to the Food Network website and find a recipe for grits that's by Paula Deen. He looked confused. I said, Paula Deen is from Savannah. She knows how to make grits.
The Guy said, Ok.
I turned to Jennie and asked, It was ok to butt in, right?
Jennie said, Absolutely. If you hadn't, I would have. We're from the South, and we couldn't let him say grits are like cream of wheat.
And she is absolutely right.
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Also? I was working on my cookbook list, when we turned veggie. One of the last cookbooks I had to make something out of was the Elvis one. So pretty much I could either make grits or banana cream pie. I had the hardest time finding grits at my grocery store! I asked several workers there, and no one knew how to find any. Even in Texas, I think maybe homemade grits are a dying art.