Food by Jude   Eat well, live long and have more fun!

Bar T Barbecue Sauce, Bronco Barbecue Bread & Chuck Wagon Vinaigrette

You know how certain smells bring back memories? In fact, our sense of smell has the best memory of all our senses.

When I smell chocolate, I remember our first apartment. It was down wind from the Guitard Chocolate Company - talk about your sweet dreams!

The smell of green onions reminds me of going waterskiing. I know that sounds odd, but on warm summer mornings we would drive by fields of green onions on our way to the nearby lake.

I love the aroma of BBQ sauce; it suggests lazy days, casual get-togethers and of course, sticky fingers. I’ll wager that when you read “BBQ sauce” you thought immediately of the red, sweet sauce, of which there are 999 bottles on the wall of the local supermarket. And that’s exactly what I meant. 

In the sacred sanctuaries of sauces in the Southern USA, there are 4 varieties. Vinegar- based, mustard- based, light tomato and heavy tomato.  The later two, which, are generally the most popular, are relatively new on the BBQ scene.

Kraft introduced the first commercial (tomato based) BBQ sauce in the 1950’s. WWII was over, the guys were home at long last, and it was a time of great family involvement. Backyard BBQ’s took off, and so did the proliferation of BBQ sauces. Oddly, the use of these complex, yet commonplace, concoctions is most often relegated to the backyard, patio or deck.

Since I like a whiff of the spicy sauce more than once in a while, I’ve devised devious ways to get my “Q fix” without venturing outside - thereby guarantying the heady aroma whenever I wish, rain or shine.

Consider this. Add a little BBQ sauce to mayonnaise. It is a quick way to come up with a new twist for tuna salad, sandwich spread, or dip for vegetables and chips. A little splash of BBQ sauce added to canned, baked beans or bean soup will give it your signature. Mix it into extra lean hamburger, and your patties won’t be dry.

Sauté some onions and green pepper strips, and combine with leftover cooked pork, chicken, beef or ham, etc. Add BBQ sauce, and heat through. Serve over toasted bread, or rice; or pile it on top of a baked potato.

With the wide variety of flavors available, there’s plenty of commercial sauces to choose from. However, it is fun to make your own – it’s easy and quick and makes a great gift.

Brewing up a batch of BBQ sauce will give your house an aromatic ambience, and an air to remember.

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What is neither a bush nor a tree; a relative of Spanish Moss; and a variety of which has the ”hot” name cayenne?

Don’t know?  Here’s another hint.  Its juice tenderizes meat, aids digestion, eases insect bites and prevents scurvy.

Still stumped?  Its name is a slang term for a hand grenade. All the vets reading this know – it’s a pineapple!

The fruit was yet another of Columbus’ triumphs. On his second voyage to the New World, in 1493, he discovered gold - in the form of a pineapple.  He really make points with the Spanish court when be brought back the fronded fruit.  Queen Isabella was nuts for ananas.  Ananas comosus, so named by the indigenous people of the island of Guadalupe, meant “fragrant or excellent fruit” in the native language. 

The Spanish named it pina, because it resembled a pinecone.  The apple tag was added by the English to designate it as a fruit.

Long before the arrival of  Columbus, the bomb-shaped botanical had slowly made its way up the continent of South America  from its early origins in Brazil.  It was an important food for both the peoples of Brazil and surrounding areas, and also those of  the Caribbean, and it remains so, to this day.

It is debatable how the pineapple got to the Aloha state.  Some say it was brought directly by Captain Cook, the intrepid sea captain and discoverer of the ““Sandwich Islands”. Others say “nada”, and suggest the fruit washed up on the beaches, after falling off a Spanish ship. The Spanish had recognized early on, the scurvy fighting benefits of the vitamin C enhanced fruit, and carried generous supplies for their sailors.

However it got there, the pineapple found a very comfortable home in Hawaii, and began to thrive.

In the late 1800’s Captain John Kidwell planted the first commercial crop. Then along came experimenter, James Drummond Dole, and the fragrant fruit was destined for stardom.  But, there was one thing to overcome.  The thick exterior of the fruit was difficult to remove, hindering profitable production.

Enter Henry Ginaca.  In 1900 he invented the Ginaca Processing Machine which could remove the skin, cut off the ends and core 100 pineapples in less than a minute. I imagine his employer “doled” out a large bonus! A relative of this ingenious devise is still used today.

By the mid-twentieth century, Hawaii was the core of the world’s pineapple crop.

Not so today.  Plantations throughout Southeast Asia and Brazil, among others, have

over-taken American production.  It was recently announced that Del Monte will cease all Hawaiian pineapple production in 2008; stating that it was more economical to cultivate it elsewhere. 

Wherever they come from, pineapples are delicious and nutritious.  Here are a few tips for appreciating this fantastic fruit, fresh or frozen.  Rules do not apply to canned fruit.

Is it ripe?  Pineapple is picked ripe.  It will not ripen any more after picking.  So, store it in the refrigerator if you are not eating it immediately.

Packed inside its prickly exterior is an enzyme that breaks down protein – that is why it aids in digestion and is a good marinade.  This enzyme will prevent gelatin from setting up.

Cottage cheese, sour cream and other dairy products should not be mixed with fresh pineapple until just before serving.

Long a symbol of hospitality, the pineapple makes an economical and attractive centerpiece when clustered with flowers or other fruit and, unlike roses, you can eat it later!.

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