An Unexpected Treat

Being from Southern California, I am still constantly surprised by the outright friendliness and sharing of the people in the South. Sorry So Cal people, but you are going to have suck it up and admit you are not a warm and friendly group. I know. I lived among you for most of my life. Its part of why I left. Deal with it.

Anyway...this past weekend was Memorial Weekend, and we were delighted to have my cousin (4 days younger than I) and his girlfriend, Shannon, visit us all the way from Houston. It has been many moons since my cousin and I spent any time together, and family is so scattered and out of touch, it was wonderful to reconnect. Here we are with my grandmother (his aunt) sandwiched between us. Yeah, the family tree branches are uneven.

Sunday we took our boat  out to the local river, the Blackwater, and camped out on a stretch of beach with many other boaters for a beautiful, sunny and not too hot afternoon of doing nothing but getting sun and listening to other people's radios and talk. It was nice. Having a small boat doesn't allow us to come fully prepared food-wise. Others there had the full set up, from bbq and coolers to crock pots and generators. One group next to us had been up cooking since 4 am and when we pulled up, the very nice man hurried over and welcomed us by asking "have y'all had Nassau grits? Are ya hungry? Come on and git a plate."

I have to admit I have only tried grits once, and finding them tasteless, even with salsa and cheese, I never gave them another thought. Well, my cousin, bless his 6'4" frame, went over there to check it out and came back with what looked and smelled like gumbo. And I love gumbo. Knowing we had only brought chips and apples and drinks, I thought I'd be stupid not to take up this hospitality and free food offer once I saw what Nassau grits were. And I was so glad I did! I gave the cook my email address and she said she'd send me the recipe. I can't wait. In the meantime, I found a few online recipes that seem close enough to try on my own for now.

Here we've been living in Pensacola for 7 years and never knew this Nassau grits recipe was a local tradition for DECADES! I will be setting a date with my husband to go back to the Fish House to try their  Grits a Ya Ya, which are similar in appearance, and from what I've read online, in taste too.