PoBoy Smoked Catfish Spread

Fresh catfish, marinated overnight in PoBoy Mustard BBQ Sauce then dusted with Dizzy Pig Swamp Venom and smoked with pecan and apple wood ~ flaked & folded into cream cheese mixture with herbs, garlic, green onions, peppadews & I don't know what all. Sure taste good on a Ritz wit a cold beer chaser....

The Garden Of Perrydize

Fresh new/baby Colorado Gold potatos, peas & bermuda onions ~ all from Lil' Missy's garden ... makins for the *best ever* creamed peas & new potatoes (one of my all-time favorite vegetable dishes). Country boys can survive.

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Charlie Daniels ~ Long Haired Country Boy

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Carter Family ~ Church In The Wildwood

Emma Sue Up & Died

Mais ... Mz Emma Sue up and died during the night, and her grief struck husband Tee Wayne, he dialed up the 911 on his 'lectric telephone.

Dat 911 operator, her, told mah frien Tee Wayne she'd send someone right out lickety-split. "Where you live at?" asked dat operator.

Tee Wayne replied: "At the end of Eucalyptus Drive, yeh"

The operator asked, "Can you spell that for me?"

There was a long pause and finally ol' T.W. said: "How 'bout if I just drag her over to Oak Street, huhhhh???"

Don't Let Yer Meat Loaf

Smoked meatloaf, sliced/blackened & topped with onion rings made with garden fresh onions ... and homemade crinkle-cut steak fries. Took me 2 beers to wash it down. Hooray Beer.

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Bluegrass Album Band ~ Ocean Of Diamonds

Hot Weather ~ Cool Salads

Hot weather calls for cool shrimp pasta salad. I drove out to The Lodge yesterday to visit my friends Rob & Robin ... and came home with several grocery sacks full of fresh veggies from Lil' Missy's garden ~ it's a beautiful thing.

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Bluegrass Album Band ~ Big Black Train
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Makin' blackened smoked meatloaf sandwiches for supper tonight, topped with homemade onion rings ~ thought I'd make a few homemade crinkle-cut steak fries, also. Just blanched them in hot oil ~ will fry them a second time, come suppertime, and dust them with a lil' cajun seasoning.

Shrimp Poboy

Well, my skillet was still good'n greasy from dat fried catfish a couple days ago ... so I hauled off and breaded some shwimps & fried'em up real good ~ made dat big ol' poboy on a fresh baked pepperoni bread & dressed it wit some peppadew remoulade. Taste mo'bettah than good, ah garrontee.

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Wet Willie ~ Keep On Smilin'

An Old Relic Of Days Gone By

I came across this old wagon one day, when I was out cruising around in the country ~ Jefferson County. Retired to yard art now ... if only it's old weathered & worn buckboards could talk, the stories it would tell, eh? My Grandpa, Walt, farmed with a team of horses ... work horses ... Maude & Dan was their names ~ and I have memories of them pullin' a wagon just like this in our cornfields, while we shucked corn by hand & threw the ears into the wagon. I'll tell ya one thang fer tru, it takes a lot of corn-shuckin' to fill up a wagon like dat!! The corn was then ground up & used to make *slop* to feed the hogs. Days gone by.

Willie Nelson ~ Hands On The Wheel

Chez & Phredeaux Go Fishin'

Mah frien Phredeaux & me, we been fish'n down by de farmpond all day an done run outta night crawlers. Phredeaux, he be bout reddy to leave when he seen a snake wit a big frog in his mouf. He knowed dat dem big sac au lait fish like frogs, so he decided to steal dat froggie. Dat snake, he be a cotton-moufed water moccasin ... so Phreddy had to be real careful or he'd get hisself bit. He snuk up behine de snake and grabbed him roun de haid. Dat ol' snake, it din't lak dat one bit, no. He squirmed'n'hissed and wrapped hisself roun Phreddy's arm try'n to get hisself free ... but Phreddy, him, had a real good grip on his haid, yeh.

Well ... by'n'by, Phreddy commenced t'hollerin fer help, so ah went over dere & pried dat snake's mouf open and got de frog and puts it in Phreddy's baitcan. Now, Phreddy knows dat he cain't let go dat snake or it's gonna bite him good, but he had a plan. He reach into de back pocket of his bib overhauls and pulls out a pint a moonshine likker. He pour some drops into de snakes mouf. Well, dat snake's eyeballs roll back in his haid and his body go real limp like. Wit dat, Phreddy toss dat snake into de deep end dat pond & he goes on back to fishin'.

A while later, we wuz havin' us a lil' nip dat ol' nasty stumpwater white lightning ... and ah dun feel sumpin tappin' on mah barefoot toe. Ah slowly look down and fry mah hide, dare dat water moccasin was ... with two more frogs! Now, don't dat beat all ... HUHHHH????

Kaw-Cajun Giardineria

Made this coonass giardineria a couple weeks ago ~ thinkin' it might be a good accoutrement for dat fried catfish poboy I'm having fer supper tonight, ain? Whooooboy, got mah black iron skillet good'n greasy ~ allons!!

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Merrilee Rush ~ Angel Of The Morning

Ain't it funny how a song can take you back to a specific place and time? I've always loved this song ... it takes me back to the summer of '67 ... I was just a 16 yr old kid on the custom wheat harvest ... sitting in a bar called Don's Idle Hour in Minot, North Dakota on a rainy day, drinking Grain Belt beer & stuffing quarters into the jukebox listening to this song over and over again.

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Mais, I decided to make some baked beans to go wit dat fried catfish ... took a tip from mah frien Rick Salmon, and added some diced celery to these baked beans ... along wit some Vidalia onions, green peppers, bacon, brown sugar, molasses, some mah homemade chipotles in adobo sauce, lil' bbq sauce & I don't know whut all. They sure is smellin' up the house good, tru dat.

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Doc Watson ~ What A Friend We Have In Jesus

GONE FISHIN'

Instead Of Just A' Wishin'

Sourdough Catheads

Up at 4 AM today, to bake some sourdough breads ... while the dough was risin' I hauled off and baked some scratch cathead biscuits ~ even put a lil' dat sourdough sponge in the biscuits, then loaded'em up Phil Tanner style. The pre-dawn smell of fresh baked bread, coffee and bacon is about more than a man can bear....

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Tab Benoit ~ I Heard That Lonesome Whistle

I was ridin' Number Nine
Headin' south from Caroline
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
Got in trouble, had to roam
Left my gal an' left my home
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

Just a kid, actin' smart
I went and broke my darlin's heart
I guess I was too young to know
They took me off that Georgia Main
Locked me to a ball and chain
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

All alone I bear the shame
I'm a number, not a name
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
All I do is sit 'n cry
When the evenin' train goes by
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

I'll be locked here in this cell
Till my body's just a shell
An' my hair turns whiter than snow
I'll never see that gal of mine
I'm in Georgia doin' time
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

Honest Shoes

It's Been A Long, Hard Road

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I took this picture mebbe 4-3 years ago, when I was down at mah good frien Phredeaux's pharm in Big Cabin, Oklahoma. We was sittin' around pickin' & sangin' ... and come'bout dat time in the late afternoon when the shadows is long, I looked down & noticed these honest shoes on the banjo player, JJ, him. Now, my grandpa wore honest shoes just like these, and my daddy did too .... give me a pretty good inklin' what kinda man JJ was, them shoes.

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Homemade Texas Hill-Country Hots & South Carolina Po-Boy Chicken Boobs ~ it's what's fer supper!

Love Me Some Pie

Woke up this morning with a powerful ahnvee for pie ... peanut butter pie ... with sliced bananas in it. God have mercy on this poor lil' pie ... 'cause it prolly ain't gonna make it through the day!!!

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Mais, I got the meat prepped fer the grill t'morra ~ seems a lil' shy to me ... thinkin' mebbe I oughtta run to the groceria & git me a few pork chops to throw on there, too ~ empty grill space be a terrible thang to waste, tru dat. By the by ... dat's some homemade Texas hill-country jalapeno hots sausage rings ... and a South Carolina mustard/lemon vinegrette marinade on dat chicken. Feelin' somewhat *continental* t'day, me. LOL

Cukes & Onions Salad

Found some great lookin' garden fresh cucumbers at a produce stand yesterday, so picked up a few ... and a couple them sweet Vidalia onions & a lemon ~ sliced'em up, zest and juice dat lemon, salt, cracked black & a pinch of sugar, some fresh oregano & mint from lil' missy's garden, cider vinegar, evoo & a splash of water ~ VOILA ~ one my favorite summertime salads.

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Whooooboy, just went out to the smokeshop to enjoy a lil fresh air and a cuppa dat good Community Coffee, al' fresco, and danged if I din't come back in wit a big package of split chicken breasts & a coil of homemade jalapeno sausage out the freezer! Whooooboy, I'm committed now ... ain't no turnin' back ... come 'long bout Thursday I see a smokin' session happenin' on da bayou, ain?

Taj Mahal ~ Cajun Waltz

Ain't No Fancy City Vittles

Fresh ground chuck steak, charbroiled, melted pepperjack ... atop a pan-fried cheesy mashed potato cake ... smothered with cajun gravy, caramelized Vidalia onions, fresh mint & oregano, and a few bacon bits. This is one I ain't gonna tell my docteur about, no.

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Sonny Landreth ~ Mississippi Blues

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Martina McBride ~ How Great Thou Art

GONE FISHIN'...

Instead Of Just A Wishin'

Cheeseburgers In Paradise

I ground some fresh beef chuck ... made boo-dan meatballs with half of it, and today made 8 big fat cheeseburgers with the other half of it. Dusted'em real good wit some dat Dizzy Pig "Raising The Steaks" rub, then grilled'em hot & nasty over hardwood charcoal to 'bout medium ... melted a lil' Tillamook cheddar over'em, some nice cool slices of avacado, crisp bacon, sweet red onions ... and some dat good Zatarains creole mustard. Want fries with that??

The Red Stick Ramblers ~ Belle

Kaw-Cajun Carmelized Onion Gravy

Made a lil' coonass gravy to smother them boo-dan meatballs I made yesterday ~ taste so good, I hauled off and made some mashed p'taters, too ~ had'ta have me a lil' sample fer lunch ... just t'make sure it's fit fer human consumption....

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Well, this just came out the oven ~ fresh broccoli casserole (broccoli from lil' missy's garden) ... made a cheesy mornay sauce with some good sharp tillamook cheddar & topped it wit buttered whole wheat *breadcrumbs* i made wit some leftover wheat biscuits i baked a few days ago.

Fat Johnny's Dirty Boo-Dan Meatballs

Mais ... I hauled off this morning & ground some beef chuck, for to make some burgers AND meatballs ... meatballs wit dirty rice in them, and boudin, and the HOLY trinity, Cajun Power, Wooster & ah don't know whut all ~ whooooboy, got'em in the oven as we spoke ... can you smell'em? HUHHH? Prolly oughtta make some cheesy grits & some kinda creole onion gravy ... I see a big ol' sloppy wet meatball/gravy poboy in mah very near future, tru dat!

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Boy Howdy ~ these turned out much more better than good, ah garrontee ~ went to just taste one, and woofed down three of'em before I could stop mah badself. LOL Aw well, what'sa hongry man gonna do, eh?

Will It Float??

Last weekend my buddy, Rob, launched this floating dock on the pond at his farm up by Perry. He built the dock hisself, using the deck from his previous house ... dropped it in place using his backhoe, anchored'er down & voila! The Perrydize Floating Marina is open fer bidness, exclusive to F.O.L.B. members (Fraternal Order Of Lost Bobbers). LOL Dat's Rob & Robin, on the left in the top pic, and some their family peeps that helped wit christenin' the dock when it was launched. Looks like a nice spot to sit & sip a beer while watchin' the sun set, eh?

Haulin' Hay

Whooooboy, this brings back memories. I wish I had a penny for every bale I've bucked ~ you country boys know what I'm sayin? I can even remember my favorite hay hooks (had a short one, and a long one) ... used 'em hard & used'em often ... and here some 40 years later, still got the blisters to prove it!! Wasn't nothin' to buck these 80# bales all day long, 100* in the shade, got a free field lunch & mebbe a bottle of 3-V cola ... and a $10 bill at the end of the day ~ honest work, honest wages ... and you din't hear me complainin' either ~ I was habitatin' tall cotton them days, ah garrontee! Went t'school all day, worked mah daddy's farm when I got home, got three squares every day, went t'town on Saturday fer tradin' and a matinee picture show, then to church on Sunday. God Bless America. What about it, Hag ... Farmer's Blues

Foggy Morning Mirage

Silent Silos In The Fertile Fields Of The Kaw River Valley
Standing Homage To Days Gone By
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SWEET CLOVER

Some sing of the lily, and daisy, and rose
And the pansies and pinks that the summertime throws
In the green grassy lap of the medder that lays
Blinkin' up at the skyes through the sunshiney days

But what is the lily and all of the rest
Of the flowers, to a man with a heart in his breast
That was dipped brimmin' full of the honey and dew
Of the sweet clover-blossoms his babyhood knew

I never set eyes on a clover-field now
Er fool round a stable, er climb in the mow
But my childhood comes back jest as clear and as plain
As the smell of the clover I'm sniffin' again

And I wonder away in a bare-footed dream
Where I tangle my toes in the blossoms that gleam
With the dew of the dawn of the morning of love
Ere it wept ore the graves that I'm weepin' above

And so I love clover ... it seems like a part
Of the sacredest sorrows and joys of my heart
And wherever it blossoms, oh, there let me bow
And thank the good God as I'm thankin' Him now

And I pray to Him still fer the stren'th when I die
To go out in the clover and tell it good-bye
And lovin'ly nestle my face in its bloom
While my soul slips away on a breath of perfume...

James Whitcomb Riley

Dirty Rice Boo-Dan

Dat's right ~ there be homemade boudin in there, and fresh ground chuck, and smoked/shredded beef ... and bacon ~ not to mention the trinity & about 40 cloves of garlic (makin' it the HOLY TRINITY) ... and fresh herbs from Lil' Missy's garden, Tony's, Wooster and I don't know what all ~ Allons-y!! Now, I'm headed to the ol' crawdad hole for to catch me a catfish ... thinkin' mebbe a lil' blackened catfish might be just the ticket, eh? Whooooboy, yer daddy goin' fishin' ... yer mama goin' fishin' ... and yer baby goin' fishin', too~~

True South Carolina Mustard Sauce

Mais ... a nice fella in South Carolina ~ Mike Adams, him, sent me a couple bottles this sauce he makes, fer samplin' ... and while Mike recommend it on pulled pork & ham, I'm gonna haul off and try it on some smoked chopped beef tonight ... why beef? ... because dat's whut I got on hand, dat's why! In any case, I just opened a bottle & stuck mah finger in it ... whooooboy, dat's some good eatin' right there, I garrontee! Mike, mah frien ... from one po'boy to another ~ you got a mighty fine sauce here ... hope you sell a million damn bottles of it! Tru dat.

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Sweet Mary Mother Of Jesus!! This stuff is great ~ I think them Carolina boys might be onto something, with this mustard bbq sauce!

Fire In The Hole!

Up b'fore the crack of dawn t'day, 'bout 5:30 AM ... got mah pot of dat good black Community Cawfee perkin' real good, then commenced to the smoke shop & fired up the smoker 'bout 6 AM ... when that got goin' good I throwed on a couppla sticks of hickory & put mah lil' bovine babies in for a 10 hr. smoke nap ~ smellin' good on da bayou now, ah garrontee ~ go t'sleep mah lil' babies...

Weather sure is strange this mornin', though ... cain't quite put mah finger on it ... there's an ill wind blowin' & it's wayyy too hot and muggy for this early in the day, tru dat. Gonna batten down the hatches, and hope for the best ~ looks like we in fer a bumpy ride!

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Mais, we 'bout 4 hours into this smoke session ... things is goin' just like they 'posed t'did ... WSM chuggin' along at 250* wit dat thin blue curl of hickory smoke smellin' up the neighborhood ~ sooo, I figured ah better turn mah attention to some slaw. I ain't fersure, but I think there's some kinda law dat requires slaw wit bbq (The Slaw Law) ... so I hauled off & made some. This ain't yer ordinary slaw, though ... this is Kaw-Cajun Slaw ... kicked up with about 40 cloves of garlic, carrots, Vidalia onions, green bell peppers, and I don't know whut all ... then dressed wit a hot sweet/vinegar/tomato dressing ... kinda like a copper pennies dressing. When it cools down a tad, I'm gonna throw a lil' chiffonade of fresh mint in it, just for grits & shiggles~~

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Noon: At the 6 hour mark ... lookin' good, internal meat temp 160* ... another hour or so, and then mebbe I'll wrap ~ mebbe not. Threw another chunk of hickory on ~ back to sleep mah lil' babies......

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2:30 PM: At the 8 1/2 hour mark ... startin' to git a nice bark ~ lookin' like bbq ~ internal meat temp 185* ... wrapped in foil & put'em back in smoker ... one more hour oughtta do it, to reach target temps around 200*

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5 PM: Just finished pulling/chopping this awesome bbq beef ... foiled at 2:30, back into smoker till 3:30, then removed from smoker @ 200* internal & put in a dry cooler to rest for another hour ... then chopped it. All told, an 11 hour process, low & slow, and worth every damn minute of it ... this ain't no quick citified store-bought bbq ~ damn straight. Now ... it's Miller Time. Stay in the smoke, y'all....

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7 PM: Good things come to those who wait...