Bo-ld peanuts

I say bo-ld because that's the way southerners say it. They drop the "i" in boiled.

When I visited southern GA years ago we stopped at a roadside stand and tasted boiled peanuts. I thought they were the nastiest thing I have ever had the displeasure of putting in my mouth. They were mushy and they were warm- it was like eating peanut flavored mashed potatoes. I vowed to never, ever try them again.

Fast forward to last week when my grandma was here.

In fact- here's a picture of my gram, my mom, and me :)

She wanted to have some boiled peanuts while she was here. So we stopped at a little roadside stand and bought raw aka green peanuts.

Um, I wasn't really interested in peanuts at the time... so enjoy some other fresh local produce:

Watermelon

This particular stand had several hand painted chalk boards for each item they sold.

Vine ripe GA tomatoes. Aren't they pretty? Pretty tasty :)

Mom and Dad went home and the peanuts went into the fridge. A few days later we remembered we were going to make boiled peanuts. It was late and they take a few hours. Gram decided to be in charge of turning the peanuts off and drain them when they were done.

I arrived early the next morning since we were going to Florida to meet up with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I must have been tremendously hungry because I snatched a peanut up off the counter, cracked the shell and slurped out the nuts. (I'm told the proper way to eat them is indeed, to slurp the nut out of the shell) And you know what, I liked it. A lot. Mom even sent some home with me! Yummy. (So much for never ever trying them again LOL.)

Here are a few other highlights from the weekend:

A striped sea anemone my mom found on our beach walk. When we'd touch it, the anemone would ball up tightly to protect itself. It was beyond cool. Great fun find, Mom!

Me and my cousin Raquel. I'm so excited she's home from college for the summer!

Ok, I know it's sideways, blogger is being difficult- anywho,  I don't recall this particular Dick and Jane title!

I told Jon he couldn't make his angry face, my dad cracked up. I LOVE this picture of the two of them :) Click the picture to see the full sized version- it's super fun.

Best. Memorial Day weekend. ever.

Here's to you and your culinary adventures, friends. Cheers!

  Boiled Peanuts

  2 lbs raw green peanuts in the shell, washed well

·       ½ cup salt

        Add water three times the depth of peanuts in the pot

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 Place washed peanuts(still in the shells) in a pot with water and salt. Weight down the peanuts with a heavy   plate  if desired. Boil 2-1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, adding water as necessary.

If peanuts are cooked through but not salty enough, remove pot from heat and let peanuts sit in the brine. Recheck for saltiness every 20 minutes.

Drain well.

Store in covered container in the refrigerator.

To eat- Reheat peanuts for a few seconds in the microwave. Crack and split the shells open. Slurp the nuts right out of the shell. 

* You can freeze cooked, boiled peanuts. Thaw and reheat in the microwave for a tasty treat.