Local talent tells stories

 

Local talent? We’ve got it

Those who grow and those who tell stories are some of my favorite Texas characters. Here are some notes on a cactus woman I just met, and what’s up with two area writers I’ve known a while:

Cactus Cactus

I didn't ask Desiree Kleypas why she named her place Cactus Cactus. A lot of things are so nice you say it twice. It's a holistic hairstyling experience and a planty little shop all in one. She's got plants for sale, is tied to the Mid-County Victory Garden  and can connect you to Cortile Mediterranean take out. 

I haven’t tried the take-out yet. She says it features fresh pasta, homemade ricotta cheese and 72-hour fermented high hydration pizza dough. I got a lot of info from this interesting lady in a few minutes. She told me to make sure I experienced the herb garden right outside the little house on 14th Street in Nederland, near the post office. As I was inhaling aromas of sage and oregano, I headed to my car and realized... I didn't ask about cactus or cactus. https://cortile-mediterranean.square.site/

www.cactuscactusonline.com 

 

Jim Baxter releases “Ten Thousand Jupiters”

               Jim Baxter is known and respected in Southeast Texas. His new book and audio book “Ten Thousand Jupiters” shares his family’s diagnosis, treatment and loss of son Stewart. While it seems his whole church and work family in the Beaumont/Bevil Oaks area bonded to raise funds and support this family, Jim is sharing the personal parts now. The title refers to a unit of measurement: how much love father and son have for one another. The writing draws you in. I do have to say it: Jim may have inherited some of this story telling from his dad, area radio personality Gordon Baxter. 

Reach the author at (409) 658-0652.

Here is a snippet from the Amazon book listing:

“Read by the author and father of young Jimmy and Stewart, “Ten Thousand Jupiters, A Memoir,” provides an intimate look at the world of childhood cancer in 1992. Diagnosed with what doctors at Texas Children's Hospital called, "the best childhood cancer," young Stewart pushes the envelope in cancer research by participating in a "conscious sedation" study that forever changes hospital protocols for young children during bone marrow tests and spinal taps. During this four-year battle with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, Jimmy becomes Stewart's best medicine. Just twenty months apart, the boys' parents treat Jimmy as the other patient. When Stewart relapses after just two years of remission, the family faces a bone marrow transplant, and it is hoped that Jimmy will be the match. But it is not meant to be.

Over the next two years, the family goes on to face a total of two transplants at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center with an unrelated marrow donor who becomes family. Together, the family endures the rollercoaster ride of relapse and remission. Stewart becomes teacher as they learn just what it takes to find humor in the most unexpected places. Their lives become a lesson in knowing how much love and faith it takes to get through all of this.”

 

Penny L. Clark on Lamar History

I'm a proud Lamar Cardinal. I had not fully grasped the institution's history of wartime training. Penny L. Clark filled me in. Clark is a certified archivist who recently retired and has written a piece called "Astute Leadership and Dynamic Achievement: Lamar College during the World War II Era." It is included in Gulf South Historical Review Vol. 23, No. 1, The Journal of the Gulf South Historical Association.

    L.B.J. came to town in the '40s and announced that a boy who knows how to use a blow torch is more important to the country that one who goes to school to learn about history, but in his own colorful phrasing. The war effort was going strong and Lamar was training men and women to help America win it. Thanks for the reminders, Ms. Clark!

   Clark has also written “Beaumont's Civil Air Patrol in World War II (Images of Aviation),”

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves sharing people’s stories. Got one? Share via panews@panews.com

Classic local cookbooks share community history

 

Local cookbooks tell a community’s history. I found so many on my mom’s shelves that I’ve been reliving my childhood. Styles have changed for sure. Every house must have kept several blocks of cream cheese on hand. Here are some memories worth sharing:

“Parish Pantry Second Helping” – This 1970 book shares favorite recipes of The Women of St. George’s Episcopal Church of Port Arthur, Texas. It’s all handwritten. We didn’t have computers, remember? Even the ads, for businesses such as Pat Wood drugstores and Drago Hardware, are drawn.

Pretty Orange Spread is from Kaye Sherrill. I thought it was a fruity dip, but the orange comes from tomato paste. Mix that and salt into cream cheese, butter and Accent seasoning. Spread on buttered bread rounds and garnish with olives, a sprig of parsley or cucumber cube, she suggests.

 

“Cooking Light & Eating Smart” is by Jacqueline Richard’s Steen who lists her Port Arthur ties on page 3. The 1996 book offers more than 350 low-fat recipes for a healthy lifestyle. Of course, fruit and veggies play a role in this. Her tips for using roasted bell peppers include spicing up Italian hero sandwiches, coloring a pepper slaw, filling pepper cups with tuna salad and filling them with omelet. I worked with Ms. Steen and remember her well. Lucious titles inside include Curried Chicken and Mango Salad.

 

“Milady’s Kitchen and Garden Book” – Milady’s Garden Club copyrighted a first edition in 1969. My aunt, Stella, wrote “Merry Christmas and Happy Cooking!” inside, for my mom.

Would you try this one?

Warm Cheese Pudding

Patricia Boach instructs cooks to combine 12 ounces of room temp cream cheese with a package of cooked vanilla pudding. Serve warm.

Sounds rich and easy.

 

“Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen” is from The Golden Triangle Quilt Guild. I love that so many dessert selections are “quickie,” because these women wanted to get back to quilting.

There was Dump Cake, Easy Cobbler, Easy Sherbet, Dessert Quick, Jaqueline’s Easy Pineapple Cake, A Good Easy Cake and Inexpensive Sponge Cake.

Dessert Quick is layering crushed strawberries, lemon sherbet and crushed macaroons or sugar wafers into parfait glasses. It’s pretty and delicious, Gwen Montgomery wrote.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves going “retro” into recipes. Share a family fave in this column by reaching out through panews@panews.com

New Bites for to fall for

Gumbo, chili and soup, we’re ready for you. We’re standing by with sweaters and leafy décor. Here are some new bites to “fall” for:  

Cans - American Tuna cans are so attractive that I made a tower of them and admired my still life. Eventually I popped tops on flavorful no salt, sea salt, jalapeno and garlic options

I was right about their upscale packaging. I’d moved my tower to a work desk and a passerby snapped a photo for the color schemes of orange, navy, green and cream.

American Pole & Line fishing families started this company in San Diego. Albacore comes from the Pacific Ocean. Then it gets hand filleted and packed at artisanal canners in Oregon and Washington. They cook it once, in the can. They can trace every can of one-by-one catch back to the vessel that brought it in. There’s no vegetable broth or fillers.

I was right again for not wanting to drain. The liquid keeps the flavor, nutrients and omega-3 fatty acids. This is high-quality and delicious fish. This firm meat is nothing like the stringy tuna we ate in the ‘70s. It’s gourmet. I made salads with black beans, basil leaves and tomatoes. Recipes on the www.americantuna.com site are fancy, like the very photogenic smoked tuna blt, which stands for bacon, lettuce and beet.

Cups– Agave makes tequila, but now I’m paring it with fine teas. Fiore cups feature watercolors of Fátima Seehagen, a Brazilian painter whose work “exuberantly abstracts nature, unleashing emotions through a vivid natural palette.”

Tea Forté has a collection of cups with infusers and lids that turn tea time into your ritual. "We all have a story to tell, just as all flowers have a unique, irreplaceable beauty and fragrance,” the artist says. My calm comes from gazing at the blue and green watercolor of a very Texas-centric plant. It’s the difference between sipping and gulping. For more: Introducing the Fiore Teaware Collection

Elevated Street Food Sauce: Bali BBQ – Ever watched a Southerner barbecue? I witnessed a lively conversation in the park as my husband’s relatives debated over pecan wood, types of meat and placement on the grill. Who won? I did, because I got to eat the results of the day.

You may think you can’t teach us new tricks about barbecue, but here’s a way to keep the flavor going when you’ve scrubbed up the grill for the season. I’ll let the creators share about this organic food company working with farming families building products around coconut blossom nectar and regenerative food forests:

“Big Tree Farms Bali BBQ brings a smoky, savory, slightly sweet flavor to chicken, roasted vegetables, and easy weeknight meals. Inspired by the street BBQ of Bali, the sauces are made with organic coconut aminos, coconut sugar, garlic, ginger, tamarind, lemongrass, and organic spices…and are soy-free, gluten-free and made without refined sugar,” the product material reads.

My take is that a few squeezes from the bottle is why they call this original naughty medium and not so naughty mild sauce collection “elevated street food sauce.” If all you have in the pantry is rice and peanuts, you can sauce up a full flavor entre. It’s gluten free and soy free and full of possibilities.

Beans on Beans – I’ve just used crunchy Festive Chickpeas to top a pinto bean salad and float atop a bowl of bean soup. I realize that is beans on beans, but I can’t get enough. If you like your grab and go nutrition in flavors like Nacho Cheese, Honey BBQ and White Cheddar, you can rock this snack.

Makers report: “Festive Chickpeas naturally help bridge both gaps, delivering 10 grams of plant-based protein and 8 grams of fiber per bag…all from real chickpeas, with no added protein powders, concentrates or isolates.”

Little bags go right into your purse or lunch box, naturally. Here’s a new twist: try them on charcuterie boards. That will get them talking. Available on Amazon, Walmart.com, SnackFestive.com.

Chocolate – If you won’t try quinoa in a salad, how about in a chocolate bar? Quinoa Crunch offers 60 percent cacao, but you can crank it to 85 with Raspberry Blackout. These chocolates are for you, not those little ones who come knocking on your door at Halloween. The flavors are intense and  special. Alter Eco is one of those do-good companies restoring ecosystems while you indulge in flavors like Silk Velvet Truffles with wrappers fit for composting in your back yard. Look for a partnership with Practical Magic 2 because Halloween movies and chocolate are a natural match.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie anticipating the season’s best flavors. Share with her via panews@panews.com

Oats go for a peanut butter roll

 

Sometimes life gives you lemons.

This time, I got peanut butter from my daughter and raisins from volunteering at a run. Lots of raisins! 

I've recently discovered dry oats as a quick breakfast pancake option mixed with egg and banana. This time I rolled them around in the PB and raisin largess. Health nuts call these protein balls. They were like coffee break snacks and breakfast treats to me. 

To those three basic ingredients, play with adding:

·            Cocoa powder

• Vanilla
• Chia seeds
• Tiny chocolate chips
• Cinnamon
• Coconut flakes
• Chopped nuts 
• PUMPKIN ALERT: Sprinkle your pumpkin spice powder all over these goodies and munch away virtually guilt free.

Pecans to confess over - Damn Man Snacks had me at Mexican Cocoa Peanuts, but that’s in another package. I’ve sweet-crunched through the bold pleasure of Bluegrass Bourbon Pecans. They’re suggested as a tailgate offering. You can bring them but don’t think about hiding them because they’re in a round tin and the nuts rattle around and make noise. Just get a bunch first before pass it around. $29 at Walmart.com

I confess, I love the round tins a certain famous fruitcake comes in, but I’d rather have a tin packed with these pecans.

Righteous Felon - Jerky doesn’t have to be funny. It doesn’t even have to be good if you are truly eating in in survival mode on a trailhead. But fortunately, there are some guys who can hook you  up to top-notch, creatively flavored jerky with a funny bone. Righteous Felon Craft Jerky is getting big for its britches. By this I mean cheeky, in all the good ways. Eyebrow-raising puns and packaging frame a soft side of just-good jerky and sticks that taste distinctly delicious.

Try these on for size:

Beef Jerky in Bootleggin’ B.B.Q; Seoul Survivor that’s Korean inspired; and Maryland Monroe, with a beefy blonde with a beauty mark on the packaging.

Lemon Pepper with citrus and basil is an option on a stick along with: Street Taco (with pineapple); O.G. Hickory; Fiery Habanero; and Honey Heist.

There are more and they’re all fun. Read their manifesto at www.righteousfelon.com, but let me leave you with this. A beefy heavyweight with gloves and a championship belt is on the package labeled Teriyaki Balboa. Stay Righteous.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves to hear from readers, via panews@panews.com

Falloween brings pumpkin alerts

 

It’s Autumn. Have you fashioned your wheat wreath and arranged dried flowers in a hollowed-out pumpkin yet? Bit much? A book below will inspire you.

So Southeast Texas brings fall colors from construction paper instead of the leaf peppers hunting color changes up north. We just are happy for a few days of sweater weather.

These calendar pages bring little names suitable for your next Instagram: PSL for pumpkin spice latte and spooky season. Falloween is when you’re ready to bring out your décor ranging from little orange lights and cats in hats to cornucopia and turkey salt and pepper shakers. Around here, with throw in sugar skulls for Dia de los Muertos.

When pumpkin spice everything began showing up on shelves, I started posting Pumpkin Alerts in this column. Here's the first of 2027. Hallow them out for holding flowers, an idea from the book mentioned here.

The book discussed below covers all seasons in a French way that Texans in the Cajun Capital can adopt. Dive in to this fall feeling. Before you know it, we’ll be ready for another mood and celebration. Mardi Gras Port Arthur is coming Feb. 5-7, 2027!

A fall flavor with some spice – I met the Michelada Man giving samples of Mandolada Michelada Mix. There was a bit of a line for this local product and I’m glad I made it through. His tip is this mix will work in Topo Chico. Nothing stronger needed for this fall kick.

Micheladas are often called a Mexican Bloody Mary, made with beer and lime juice with a savory addition of tomato or Clamato juice. Not for everyone, but Southeast Texans and Valley Texans can sure relate. A salt-rimmed glass and maybe some celery or jalapeno on a stick makes a presentation.

Visit www.mandoladamix.com to learn where you can get the mix in Port Arthur. Treat yourself, don’t cheat yourself, the page suggests.

 

“French Country Cottage Seasons” is a book about your house and garden. Or how your house would love to look in each season.

      Fall festivities? Let’s go. Have you thought of arranging dried grasses with your best crystal? Or in an old wooden work chest? Topping your chocolate cake with chamomile blossoms? Wouldn’t that look smart?

            Courtney Allison had me at “foraged bits.” She’s taken grocery store blooms and foraged for sticks and leaves in such in the yard to make a personal and spectacular presentation. If you’ve found some natural wood sticks, go ahead and whip up some caramel-drizzled apples with almonds and make those sticks the handle.

            Other seasons, don’t get jealous. Here’s what this lovely picture book offers for the rest of the year:

·         Winter – Wrap gifts in “old” newspaper for a sentimental look and imagine the color in a butternut and beet salad. Warm up with butternut soup in baked pumpkins.

·         Spring – Create an outdoor spread near old-grown camelias that appear to drop pink blossoms like fallen snow. Adorn a homemade pie with roses. Gather bouquets to leave on chairs as a backdrop.

·         Summer – Do you remember to gather blossoms in teapots and such in bathrooms when you entertain? Herb cuttings drying upside down long a planked wall is a favorite aesthetic. Try a spaghetti squash bake.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready to share pumpkin alerts. Share your tips with her via panews@panews.com

Fabled Grounds gives fall vibes

Prepare to be enchanted on your next coffee break.

Fabled Grounds Book Café in Port Neches is the kind of cozy space that’s like an invitation to treat yourself on rainy day. Nestle with warm libation and a story that takes you to another world.

 But also, you want all your friends to know that you’ve found a trendy cool spot. Don’t keep this place to yourself. Share with your bibliophile friends.

You can read and eat and shop here. Do it with friends. Do it alone, which is sometimes even more special. Get a book. Get a book bag. Collect a handful of the varied bookmarks sure to crack you up but not your book’s spine. Candles, potions, perfumes, crystals and décor await in the colorful room.

Here’s what I had – for my first visit: Butterbeer is a butterscotch and cream concoction that is mixed up on site and transformed into a canned treat. Pop a top on deliciousness.

My stuffed croissant featured homemade cinnamon cream cheese and black berries….. warmed. The sticker on the box reads Book Fuel.

Spoiler: Some of those bookmarks are on the wee bit racy side. Now you’re going there for sure to check that out, right. We all need a little romance in our lives. All kinds of adventure is read here. If you are a Harry Potter kind of book lover, you’ll likely love Fabled Grounds. Here’s more from their menu:

·       Autumn Court – caramel, green apple & Pecan

·       Dark Romance – chocolate covered cherries

·       First Kiss – chocolate covered strawberries

·       High Lord – mint mocha

·       Why Choose? – vanilla, caramel & mocha

·       Stuffed croissants, muffins and bagels

Invite your bookish friends to Fabled Grounds.

     “Oyster Society: Adventures with the Shellfishly Motivated” - Have you been eating oysters all your life without realizing that “merrior” refers to variations in species, algae, salt levels and meat-to-shell ratio? Mouthfeel, texture and finish are all part of the oyster’s nose. It’s like the terrior of wine.

     This book is an oyster love story from Virginia Shaffer about one of our favorite coastal foods. She concentrates on the oysters up north, though, and now I want to taste all the variations. This release is considered part culinary adventure, part personal awakening in what becomes an oyster obsession. I can relate. There’s a recipe for creamy oyster stew that I can’t wait to experience. It sounds like a pearl of a meal.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie FALLING for this season’s flavors. Share your adventures with her via panews@panews.com

Gowns Galore, a fiesta and Louisiana classics

 

 

Need a dress connection? Gowns Galore has the white dress you can wear after Labor Day!

            A recent donation of several formals - in white and off white - may be rented and worn for the CavOILcade coronation, Blue and Silver Ball, Cotillion, Neches River Festival and maybe even Mardi Gras!

Headed down the aisle and don't want to spend thousands on a dress you wear for a few hours? Check out the wedding dresses.

Rent these beauties for a fee. Return them within 3 days of your event and you'll get $25 back. Browse the racks at Texas Artists Museum in Port Arthur. Designer names, several sizes and plenty of sparkle await. Make an appointment with Pam Trosclair by calling (409) 719-7828.

Mexican Heritage Fiesta – This year’s fiesta was packed with people and excitement, great food and music. It’s one of those Port Arthur experiences where you can see everyone you know. I shared a flavorful torta with my husband. I rarely order this sandwich because I’m usually about the chips and salsa at a Tex-Mex restaurant. We can’t have ALL the starches in one day… I chose wisely. 

With Mexican culture on my mind, check out this new cookbook on the topic:

 Comemos: Plant Forward Recipes Celebrating Contemporary Mexican Cuisine – Cactus, avocado, tomato, onions… Theres no reason “meat lovers” have to avoid any recipe from this book. In fact, chorizo – real or vegetarian – is optional on some dishes. It’s plant “forward,” and we here in Southeast Texas are familiar with the Tex-Mex version of these foods. Alejandra Graf goes in deeper and comes out lighter. These recipes are friendly and healthy. There’s no doubt they look delicious. How about kimchee pico de gallo, potato chorizo tostadas and beef mushroom stew in tomato sauce? They had me at Frijoles Puercos, or loaded Piggy Beans. For dessert, try candied pecans (the cayenne is optional).

Guess the cuisine -  Figs from the back  yard accompany Creole Cream Cheese for breakfast. Tacos have fried oysters and chicken livers. There's beer cooked into the beans and rice.

Do  you know where you are? It's where I'd like to be.

"Louisiana Life" magazine put out a Culinary Louisiana Calendar that would have your mouth watering into 2028.

Some very state-specific recipes include Louisiana Satsuma Vinaigrette and Mirliton Quick Pickles. I'll take some of those quail eggs, too.

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie wishing you all the flavors! panews@panews.com