Santa may like these. I would.

 

Santa may like these. I would.

 

It’s late in the game to talk “stocking stuffers,” but Southeast Texans are not nearly done with the holiday season. Port Arthur has a new Rao’s Bakery, a new James Avery store and DoughliciosAF bakery. Time to Treat Yo’Self and others.

     DoughliciousAF on Jimmy Johnson Boulevard is “bringing it” with colossal cookie concoctions in signature and rotating flavors sure to wow Santa and your guests. If you haven’t experienced the Dubai chocolate craze, try it at this cute shop. The friendly staff will guide you through selections, and that’s a tough task. Go to www.doughliciousaf.com to find out what the “af” stands for.

     That's Just Swale! - I learned all kinds of new words in Brandy Hall's new book, "The Complete Guide to Home Permaculture: How to Transform Your Yard into a Thriving & Productive Ecosystem." This is a method of using what you got to make a better garden and landscape to fit in with your actual climate, etc. It does the earth and the soil and soul good. So one new word is swale, a long, shallow vegetated ditch or depression to guide water runoff. Sure I want to live in the spaces photographed for these books. I want the little insects and birds to come enjoy the floral and herbal show with me. Here's some stuff this book will teach you to do:

• Grow mushrooms on a log
• Make a compost tea
• Create a grapevine wreath and adorn it with vegetation and seeds to feed the birds (and look pretty).
• Fashion a greenhouse from reclaimed windows.

     Shake Well, Taste Power – This header reflects the suggestion on Projo Power Coffee, cans of mocha and vanilla flavor with 25 grams of protein and 225 mg of caffeine. Is that a lot of caffeine? I don’t have to do the math. The tiny coffee cup icon on the label indicates I’m getting 2.5 cups of coffee with grassfed collagen peptides. It’s on the go good stuff that is a motivator to get moving. I love the flavor, from www.idrinkprojo.com

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie savoring the flavors of holiday gatherings. Share your family faves with her via panews@panews.com.

In search of the fancy cherry

 

I've been chasing cherries for several holiday seasons. Not real hard, mind you, but I caught the one I was seeking. I'd seen a customer at a package shop purchasing a jar of beautiful red jewels and we chatted about his Luxardo Maraschino Cherries. He noted they are pricy, but worth it. Billed as The Original Cocktail Cherries, they're an Italian thing, dark red, soaked in thick marasca syrup. There's a big-deal candying process for a "delightful crispness" and "signature taste." 

A year later I noted a jar of these at a hotel bar that was closed. It was tempting to reach over and get the bottle, but that would not be nice. Got to stay on the "nice" list. 

Another year I forgot the name and did a search for "expensive cherries" and Luxardo came out on top. Jars ranged from $24 to $99.99. I mean, I like cherries, but... 

So this season I'm at a function and run into Greg Rosenberger, who gave me his card for his services as a bartender/waiter. I've seen him at many area events. I simply mentioned his jar of Luxardo cherries and he very generously gave me a sample. He says it is part of his personal stock and worth every penny to make a proper old fashioned. He carries them with him. Guess what, these were some exceptional cherries. Like others online, I would say it would be hard to go back to the cherries I used to know. If you'd like to know more, ask this bartender, via greg9247243@gmail.com 

 

Purple Pride, Outside - Are you a Port Neches-Groves area resident who loves purple? In a region where residents and fans support their school colors, consider a garden of Purple Pride. Ever heard of the Purple Teepee Bean?

Trust me that Sandra Mao of @sandra.urbangarden covers a range of topics in “Vibrant Harvest: Cultivating a Kaleidoscope of Colors in Your Vegetable Garden with Heirlooms, Modern Hybrids, and More.” I’m stuck on the purple pages.

Adorn your property with the glow of foods listed in the index. There’s purple asparagus, purple basil, purple bell peppers and purple bok choy. Let me save space by eliminating the word purple and guiding you toward these other crops that are also purple: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, dragon carrots, kale, kohlrabi, sage and snap peas.

More Please? Go for Purple Lady Bok Choy, Purple Magic Broccoli, Purple Majesty potato, Purple Mustard greens, Purple of Sicily cauliflower and Purple Passion Asparagus.

 

Peace Out – I’ll never own a home where a wall of windows and stone fireplace provide an a-ha moment for guests who realize “dropping down” into deep Montana powder is a few steps away.

“Peace in the West: The Rustic Luxury Interiors of William Peace” is a coffee table book bringing as much nature into the home as architecture. Rooms are fashioned from felled trees, a chimney mimics a mountain view and horseshoes and mounts go with wheel chandeliers and even gunrooms feature leather and wood looks of exclusive men’s clubs. I’m imagining being a guests in one of these spreads and living in a remote wooded area. One beautiful setting, which seemed like a showcase any nature lover would aspire to, was something like the extra guests house for when friends overflowed from the big house to the first guest house. Dream on, but the inspiration in this book is for anyone at any time. Because Peace is inspired by nature. Can’t get enough of those rocky, snowy, soaring views. Here’s an observation for any home: many stacks of books, often with a small bowl or sculpture on top, are all about these areas.

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie wishing foodie readers the happiest of holidays. Share with her via panews@panews.com

Holiday treasure hunt

 

     You hear about shopping local for the holidays. Port Neches Avenue, the downtown of it all, has some fun options, and you can refuel at Avenue Axe Sports Bar and Redbird BBQ Cafe. On the avenue, you can also EXPLORE local. I stumbled into Treasures Untold and found some characters. Some were for sale. 

     I love a good mannequin and one greeted me at the door. She was nestled by a coffee pot and gazing toward some vintage drinkware. Options for a Culinary Thrill Seeker. I’m not sure the place was open for business when I visited, but I got a sneak peek and notice of an upcoming sidewalk sale.

     This place was jam-packed with items. A fellow at the door suggested I speak to Lyle and called out to him a few times. He then asked me to cover my ears and tooted an airhorn.

     "That'll get him coming," he said.

     It did, and Lyle Tanner introduced himself and guided me toward the extremely full warehouse. It's packed, but he assured, that is how you dig for treasures and find the good stuff. He had turned up a jar of teeth for one shopper,  and still has a denture mold on the shelves. A ladder full of shoes and other surprises fill this shop. Mr. T is planning a sidewalk sale to liquidate much of his stock. Look out for the rest of the mannequins all about the place. 

 

Santa may like these. I would.   

Manta – Sleep has never eluded me and I’m an earlier-than-many riser. Tips include a dark room and relaxing music and my Manta, which just got an upgrade. The new Manta Sleep Mask SOUND V2 is an improved version of a product I already loved. It’s the sound right in your ear, the adjustable eye cups that let you blink and the dreamy darkness that comes together for a great night. I’ll bet Santa has one of these to rest up for the big night. My sleep goes deep. Makers believe naps beat coffee hands down. Here's a link and tidbits of how makers describe this Manta: https://mantasleep.com/products/manta-sleep-mask-sound-new-gen

 

·        100% Blackout for Deeper Sleep — Just a pinprick of light can disrupt REM and deep sleep, leading to post-sleep tiredness. These keep you in the dark, in the daytime.

·        Infinitely Adjustable for Personalized Fit — Manta’s eye cups' position, angle, and strap tightness are adjustable to your unique face.

·        Soft, Breathable, Durable Materials

·        Zero Pressure on Eyes or Lashes — Deeply molded eye cups for complete comfort in every position. Side, back and stomach sleepers, you’re good.

·        100% Machine Washable for Easy Care —Use cold water, place the mask (eye cups and all) in the included carrying pouch, which doubles as a handy laundry mesh net, and then lay it flat to air dry.

 

Graasi, You’re Welcome – When you say Graasi, it’s a vibe of saying thank you. If you haven’t tried organic barley water, start with lemongrass ginger and flow through cucumber lime and citrus mint. They’re newbies from a South Carolina company and “give” vitamin C, D and zinc.  Some travel influencers first handed me a bottle of this stuff and it replenished me on the spot.

 

This barley is harvested at the peak of chlorophyl. Learn about the good taste and good-for-you survival story and how creators overcame factory closings to promote local jobs at www.graasi.com

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie savoring the flavors of holiday gatherings. Share your family faves with her via panews@panews.com.

Styling for Santa: Bay City Rollers instill shortbread love

Ask me about my shortbread skills. It was the Bay City Rollers that got me to be a semi expert on all things Scottish. I knew how many stone these tartan-clad lads weighed and everything. Some issue of Tiger Beat magazine may have mentioned shortbread and I was on it, like I was going to get to serve some to these rockers.

Jump to Shortbread House of Edinburgh, offering a beautiful short tin of Truly Handmade Shortbread with Clotted Cream. Go to The Bee’s Knees British Imports to get your sweets. I’ve got to figure some way to reuse this adorable blue tin with pink/purple thistle. The rich, crunchy cookies are long gone.

If Santa is getting shortbread cookies and tea, serve it in style.

The Bee’s Knees British Imports flagship store is in Acton, MA. can connect you to the Christmas Toast tray with red and green lettering reading:

Nearest & Dearest, A Wreath on the Door, Wicked Cocktails

Parmesan Biscuits, A Fire in Every Room

Champagne on Ice, Clementines

Around the rim reads;

How I Love Winter Parties.

OCD Planners, Let’s plan a year – Would a detail of a juniper berry branch or aloe, roots and all, help your week?  The American Horticultural Society has created a weekly planner with drawings of plantes dated in the 1800s and early 1900s. You can journal a bit and mark appointments in this hardback book designed for beautiful thoughts. The owner/author/artist will write in the numbers and dates, so you could technically start anywhere on the calendar. But say we’re headed into an amazing 2026. I have a January birthday so I’d get an Opuntia with orange flowers. That’s a prickly pear cactus. Mary Emily Eaton drew this one in 1916. Honestly, these pages include names and varieties that are either new to me, or they are so beautifully blossoming that I’d never noticed them before. Remember old style phone books with tabs? The society has a lovely little Internet Password Logbook that also features floral beauty. One must stay organized.

 

 

Pumpkin Spice Watch – This week’s spotting is a pumpkin bread recipe and preserving your winter squash. Dehydrating is for hard-core pumpkin lovers. Do you make the cut? Maybe get support from your gardening accountability buddy. Maybe you can become a tomato snob. “The Preserver’s Garden: How to Grow a Garden for Fermenting, Canning, Pickling, Dehydrating, Freeze Drying & More” keeps you on your toes all year round. Staci & Jeremy Hill of Gooseberry Bridge Farm feed a family of eight year-round from a home pantry. Learn how they do it and feast on the beautiful photography of their labors. Okra, garlic or basil? Eat it all year with their tips. I want that pantry!

 

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie savoring the flavors of holiday gatherings. Share your family faves with her via panews@panews.com.

Pour Les Enfants, Casa del Sol benefits area children

Port Arthur references were everywhere at Pour Les Enfants Gala. The Casa del Sol theme greeted guests from the street with music from Bob Hope High School’s mariachi band on Nov. 20. They played attendees into a silent auction coveted goodies from donors including Snooper’s Paradise, Debbie’s Delights, Fred Millers, Buckstin Brewery and Texas Coffee Company. This is for The Garth House.

Funds help the Mickey Mehaffy Children’s Advocacy Program, Inc. interview about 800 children a year. That’s an outstanding figure, and I double-checked. For years this group has given a safe place for children tell their story of abuse and take the  steps to aid their situation.

"Abuse happens everywhere. Sometimes next door. You don't have to prove it. You just have to report it,” said Marion Tanner, executive director.

This group serves children from 6 counties and offers free counseling for the children.

A lighted tent again covered diners at adorned tables who enjoyed beef tenderloin with chimichurri sauce, paella, and/or seared chicken with roasted poblano cream sauce. Ironic to serve Mexican Street Corn Casserole, because parts of this affair are literally in the street.

So many familiar area personalities support this cause. Many of the people I chatted with work law enforcement or support in various capacities. It’s a cause they understand. Tanner says The Garth House group has interviewed more than 18,000 victims during the past 34 years.

As guests filled bid sheets, Tanner repeated that abuse can happen “next door” to any of us and should be reported. Call a hotline at 1-800-800 252-5400

Amy Pyburn, this year’s event chair, included a program note with this message from Matthew:516

“Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

Women behind the Lens – Go back in time. Imagine learning from experts when the field of photography was rather a new novelty. “The California Camera Club: Collective Visions in the Making of the American West” is both a picture and a history book. It’s remarkable that so many women were involved in trekking mountain sides and redwood forests in corsets, layered skirts and heeled boots to have a go at this camera thing. We’re talking about the late 1800s, where huge groups made excursions into the wilderness to frame, pose and study the land. Many pages note the large numbers of women in the group. They appear in photos holding banners proclaiming the club’s name. They were present as trees were felled, the earth quaked and architecture rose and fell. Carolyn Gorgen presents this University of Oklahoma Press publication.

Darragh Castillo is a Port Arthur area foodie wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons. Reach her via panews@panews.com

The holidays are BOOMING!

Our area's oil industry is something to celebrate. Here are two holiday-related ways. Museum of the Gulf Coast features a mural and other displays focusing on the area's oil heritage. Enjoy it all for free from 10 a,m.-1 p.m., Dec. 6 for Jingle All the Way Family Fun Day at the Museum. Beware The Grinch. 

Spindletop Boomtown Museum shows us how it all began. I recently stopped by when Boomtown put out some cheese and crackers to showcase the gift shop jam. The xpread gave a peek as to how staff can host your holiday parties and other events. Imagine your office hanging out at the saloon. Cheers to Gladys City. I took my plate outside  to admire the moon by the oil rig. When a grape rolled off onto the ground, I got a new friend. A pretty kitty followed me, hoping I'd drop something else. I hear her name is Gladys and she gives tours./

TruWild – If you don’t “hike, ruck and trek,” you may need an into into high-impact outdoorsing. I’m more of mall walker when it comes to exertion. Nate and Zac created a product I didn’t know I needed. The line includes Hydrate, a powder of electrolytes and aminos to replenish, rebuild and recharge. This was a blessing when I got seasonal allergies and passion fruit guava and watermelon flavors got me back in balance. I want to mention their branding. Truwild represents values of dedication, purpose, honesty and conviction. To stay True. They want to give back freedom, connection, exploration and primality. Here’s to staying Wild.

This has got to bring to mind Bun B of UGK, rappers from Port Arthur, who brought us the concept of keeping it Trill, true and real. www.truwild.com

Not Sticky at All – How can you snack on sriracha sticky rice right out of your purse? Learn to love Brussels sprouts if they crunch and taste like sweet Thai chili sauce? Go Mediterranean with a snack mix of eggplant, sweet pepper, zucchini and onion? Get Woodbridge Snacks to crisp it all up for you. These are crunchy little scientific miracles of flavor. Unroll a Tropical Fruit Roll in mango, too. I shared these from my bag at a Symphony of Southeast Texas concert at Tyrrell Park and my companions were hooked.

Here's how they describe three newbies in the line:

Tempura Seaweed Chips – Real umami seaweed coated in light tempura batter and seasoned with either simple sea salt or a sweet and mildly spicy sriracha blend.

Sticky Rice Chips – Handmade chips featuring whole grain, Japanese-style Mochi sticky rice harvested from sustainable farms in Thailand.  

Mochi Rice Nuggets – Offered in Teriyaki or Tom Yum flavors and made with short grain, slightly sweet white rice baked to a crisp. Enjoy Teriyaki for splashes of soy sauce and sake and a hint of ginger, or Tom Yum for the taste of a traditional Thai soup favorite. www.woodridgesnacks.com 

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready to make the holidays BOOM! Share with her via panews@panews.com

 

Advent is about waiting; put a rush on it

Advent calendars with adult themes are trending. Companies that sent me some say they are about to sell out. Advent is about patiently preparing, so please, “wait” for this story about my mom, Jeannette. 

Ladies of St. Jude shared their crafts at a recent meeting. There were painters, those who crochet and make "softies," blankets, rosary and wreath makers. I actually brought my columns, and shared how I like to write about food. I also used my time to share my late mom’s crafts. She loved to make something from nothing. A true '70s crafter. I love her spool tree the best, fashioned from fabric and paper, it stays out all the time at my house. She decoupaged Christmas cards onto wooden triptychs and curled can lids into intricate snowflakes. 

Jeannette Pennell Doiron was not allowed to take shop in school. She was a girl, after all. So she hung around her dad and taught herself carpentry, wood carving, brick laying, sewing, embroidery, gourmet cooking beading and more. I want to grow up to be like her.

            Check out these Advent calendars that have come my way:

Delicious Texas is a box as big as a Texas boast. Behind these doors are some goodies from all across the Lone Star state including:

·        Mostly Chocolate ( Houston, TX I Hazelnut & Pop Rocks Bar 1 pc)

• Cacao and Cardamom (Houston, TX I Gingerbread Spiced Pecans 2.0 oz.)
• Toffee Treats (Dallas, TX I Milk Chocolate Peppermint Toffee 2.0 oz. )
• Lone Star Bee Company (Houston, TX I Tuscan Blue Rosemary and Pepper Honey (3 oz. Jar) )
• Millican Pecans (San Saba, TX I Caramillican - one dark chocolate and one white chocolate )

Do you have someone who misses Texas on your list? Let www.deliciousfooddelivered.com level up the holidays. Wait for it… there are other states in this line of Advent calendars. Texas is a popular one, of course.

            DM Snacks.com has a couple of packages from Forty Fort, PA they can set you up with. I may sneak ahead to Door 20 for Beer Cheese Crunch Stix. There’s a cheat sheet so you know to plan ahead for something spicy on the 11^th with Wasabi Taproom mix. www.dmsnacks.com

Warming Joy and Winter Chalet are Tea Forte selections that are the essence of the season. Wind down and cozy up with amazing tea flavors from these collections with flavors such as Ginger Lemongrass and Chocolate Fondue. Open little numbered doors to find what joy you will experience for the day. www.teaforte.com

 For the Foodie with Flair is how 15 Olives makes its pitch. They had me at Robust, but Bold Tuscan Blend and Mild Extra Virgin Olive Oil also do their job this time of year. Between the holiday extravaganzas, try a simple meal of bread, eggs and these fine oils to refine your cravings. They’re rich and indulgent and a little goes a long way. These are perfect hostess gifts. For an extra drizzle of luxury:  holiday gift sets 

Check out an Alter Eco first-ever truffle Advent calendar: alterecofoods.com.

 

Darragh Doiron Castillo wishes you ALL the Happy Holidays. Reach her via panews@panews.com