Simply Put- “Peanuts ”

9/18/08
By: Clint Cox

If you read my column with any frequency you know that I am a huge football fan. There are several reasons for the sport of football being my favorite major sport. One of which is that football season arrives at the same time as the harvest time for peanuts.
I like peanuts. And I like them most anyway you want to fix them. But without a doubt my favorite culinary version of this nut is boiled. I can’t imagine sitting down to watch a college or high school football game without having some boiled peanuts. It would be like going to a movie and not ordering up a tub full of buttered popcorn. It just would not be the same.
I’ve had two great culinary questions in my life. Who is the first person that thought to bust open a raw oyster and eat it. And secondly who came up with the idea to boil peanuts. I don’t know who those folks were, but I am eternally grateful for their insight and contribution to the betterment of our world.
When I think of boiled peanuts I recall a trip I made some twenty years ago while working in Tallahassee. I had this fellow from Holland that was in the States touring prisons. I was assigned to take him on a tour of a youthful offender prison in Trenton, Fla. Naturally he talked with a strange accent (he thought the same about me) but he was a right nice fellow. As we drove down Highway 27 he questioned me about different aspects of the Florida Prison system. Right in the middle of these questions, he asked me "What is a boiled peanut?" It took me a moment to realize he had been seeing numerous signs along the way at the roadside stands hawking my favorite treat.
I was not well traveled at that stage of my life and was shocked to think of someone not knowing about boiled peanuts. Once I recovered from my shock I explained to him what boiled peanuts are and he seemed interested. It didn’t take long to find a roadside stand and we stopped to buy several cups of the boiled goobers. They were long gone by the time we reach the next roadside stand so we promptly stopped to buy several more cups. He absolutely loved them (what’s not to love) and was saddened to learn that it would be extremely difficult to take some back to Holland without them spoiling.
Periodically when I’m munching on boiled peanuts I think of that fellow and wonder if he ever figured out a way to get boiled peanuts in Holland. And to all the folks that enjoy reading my column, you can express your appreciation to me anytime you’d like with a few boiled peanuts. Simply Put I’d be most grateful and honored.

From the front porch: Uncle Bob said one reason his son in law never changes his opinions is that they have been in his family for generations.