Nuts for Pecans

I've recently realized the pecans are not common nuts. To those who've never heard the word said, there's two ways: 'pee-cans' and 'peh/puh-cahns'. Yeah, I use the second one.

A pecan is an oblong nut, with a pointy tip on the dark brown, striated shell. It's fairly easy to crack, revealing the treat inside. Pecans kind of look like two ax-head shaped spaceships glued together; I suggest you look it up for a better image. It's easily to crumble or snap a piece off and pop into your mouth, and it also freezes well.

This nut is special in that most of the time, it has an innate sweetness. Good in pies, cookies, brownies, fudge, on ice cream or just on its own, the pecan is a versatile nut.

You heard me right - nut pies. A pecan pie is special, and also a little odd. It involves an egg-and-corn-syrup caramel gel, with the top usually completely covered in nuts. There are a variety of ways to bake it, depending on crust, depth of gel, etc. etc., but one thing for sure is that those who dislike sweets should only get a small piece. But if you've never had one, it's definitely worth a try.

Round Rock Donuts

To those who have been to Round Rock, a suburb of Austin, you probably know what these are.

Once you've tried a Round Rock Donut, you won't eat any other kind.

Dyed(?) orange and covered in crumbly yellow glaze, it's deeply contrasted from a perfect, white Krispy Kreme donut. There was in fact a Krispy Kreme for a year or so in Round Rock, but ultimately it went out of business; the only other name donuts available are HEB (another local franchise) bakery donuts and Shippley's.

The home-made appearance of the Donut is an effective marketing idea, but not the only thing that has us coming back for more. Not only is it a sweet treat, but the rough texture of the sugar, the light marks of a fry basket, the slightly eggy taste, and the sheer joy at eating a fresh, warm Round Rock Donut is not to be forgotten.

There are several varieties of this confection, including the aforementioned plain, the chocolate (lovingly smeared with a top layer of thick chocolate icing, for those with especially strong sweet-tooths), cake Donuts (for those who prefer the less sweet, drizzled with a light, clear glaze), and many more, including the enormous Texas Donut, which comes Plain or Chocolate and is big enough for twenty people to share; I've never seen anyone buy or attempt to eat one, but I'd be surprised if one person could carry it alone.

The building itself is situated across from the First Baptist Church of Round Rock, in downtown Round Rock; it's common to see church members, especially Sunday School leaders, carrying boxes of dozen Donuts and bags of Donut Holes in to their class.

If you've never had the opportunity to taste a Donut, and you find yourself in Austin, it's a good idea to run by and try, even if you buy just one plain. And for those who don't like donuts, pies and cakes are also available at the Round Rock Bakery.

Well, well, ...POST #1.

I think the first issue I'll address is heat.

This is, I feel as a Texan, a very important component of any dish. Even if the item is not supposed to be spicy, that is still a level of spicyness.

One big problem with heat - spicyness - is that all too aften it's just there. And while I can take the heat, in a situation like that I'd rather abandon it at a bus stop. ><

What I'm saying is, if the dish is going to be spicy, that still means that the dish should be spicy, not that it should have heat AND flavor. The two should be combined as best you can.

The main reason why this is so difficult is that spicyness is not an actual flavor - it's an indication of pain. If you feel the heat and then taste the dish, or vice versa, it's not half as pleasant as when the two happen in unison, see what I'm saying?

There are some really odd - and good! - uses of heat out there. One that's more in the first category would be 'Good and Hots' (or was it Good and Spicy?) a variation of Good 'n' Plenty that had cinnamon added to lemon, orange, apple, and -yes- CINNAMON pellets. I'm not sure if it was good or not, but I'll remember it to my dying day.

Another one was when my parents and I headed to Rio Grande, a Mexican restaurant in a strip mall. I particularly love going there because it's the only place I know that serves horchata, a sweet, milk-like Mexican drink that - I discovered by trying to make it - is made with basically sugar, water, almonds, and rice.

One notable thing is that Rio Grande has HUGE glasses. They're a little taller than the plastic red/brown ones you get at restaurants - you know them, the ones that always have 'Coca-Cola' on the side in scratched-off white - but at least twice as big around.

On our most recent trip to the place, I ordered a dish with beef, and amongst other things, seared jalapeno halves.

Understand this - I'm a bit vain when it comes to my culinary skills, using or tasting, so I figured I'd be okay with the peppers, even though I actually rarely eat them.

So when I try one carefully, it turns out to be the smallest - and most seed-free - on the plate. I feel no heat, think I'm fine - so I stuff the biggest one, that's a huge pepper AND more than half, into my mouth.

There's not much to describe the experience. I DO know I drunk more than a quart of horchata, maybe closer to a gallon of liquid including my dad's water (he got a pepper at the same time as me) and it still wasn't enough. The thing is, searing, as my mom says, brings out the most flavor - and heat - in jalapenos.

I had gone to the bathroom and rubbed cold water - and maybe a paper towel, but at that point my brain was shutting down - and went back to the table, at which point a second horchata had arrived. I was thanking God that the Mexican people provide lots of rice, guacamole, and tortillas with their food, because I emptied my plate of all three, and I think most of the beans (but those come out pretty hot and stay that way for a while.). I normally hate avocados (texture) and dislike guacamole, but like they say, any port in a storm. Or beggars can't be choosers, maybe. In any case, I have DEFINITELY acquired an appreciation for the dip/side/dish/sauce.

Oh, and for those of you who don't get a chance often with hot foods? Dairy and/or bread products are the best neutralizers, when it comes to peppers. Drinking water after jalapenos is like having an ice shower after walking through poison ivy - it just spreads the oil around. I know this for sure - that water only made matters worse, and I ate three tortillas in record time, despite having intense nausea decide to visit its friend, tongue-killing-heat. I seriously had a hard time swallowing. I'll be more careful next time -_-.