Re: [CH] Re: OKRA IN SALAD? (was Tolerance)
Calvin Donaghey (gdonaghey@bitstreet.com)
Sat, 26 Feb 2000 10:03:48 -0600
green56 wrote:
> Calvin, I have always loved okra and grew some decent okra (considering
> this is MN, after all...) last year.
>
> When hitting that particular restaurant in the Stockyards back in the early
> 80s, I'd never before seen fresh, sliced jalapenos and so, having grown up
> with okra, "assumed" it was okra in my lettuce salad... Needless to say, it
> didn't take too awfully long to figure out it wasn't okra in my salad! I
> did my best to retain my composure, but I'm sure the waitstaff was having a
> grand ol'time at my xpense!
>
> Guess you could say I learned to love chiles (most o'them anyway...) thru
> trial by fire! :)
>
>
Green-
My first experience with fresh Jalapenos was at the Pizza Inn in Dodge City,
Kansas (my home town) in 1972. The proprietor put on a buffet every thursday
evening. A friend and I frequented the place after work, and between the two of
us he was losing a lot of money. He came to our table one evening and asked
what our favorite pizza was (Sausage & Jalapeno w/ extra cheese) and said he
would make one giant one and supply free drinks for us every Thursday if we
would stay off the buffet. We agreed, and he began a prolonged weekly attempt
at burning us out. He would pile on the peppers and come out to watch us
consume mass quantities and sweat. He had a friend who grew Jalapenos in his
garden, and sprung the fresh pods on us after failing to burn us out with his
canned, sliced pods. They were incindiary, but SO much better in flavor than
the canned vinegar stuff. We stayed after that pizza and both left sweating and
feeling a little stoned. Ahhhh... Free at last, free at last...
I never could get them to grow well in Kansas, because I did not seed them
myself early enough to make a good crop before the first frost, and did not know
beans about growing peppers.
Guess that's one good thing about Texas. Peppers really do well here, overall.
Calvin