y'all eat well?

Let me preface this post by saying that I have been really excited about writing this for some time now. Really, really exciting. It might be the crowning glory of my blog. This post is entirely devoted to Southern food, and more specifically, the foods that can be found in the grocery store in Sneads, Florida where we usually shop. Sneads is the next town over, just across the Apalachicola River and in "slow time" (otherwise known as central time). I don't think it's much bigger than Chattahoochee, b ut the grocery store is slightly less expensive than the one here, which isn't saying much since food in Florida is so expensive. And furthermore, this grocery store is fascinating. When my mom and dad were here, they were entertained by all the unusual (at least by Northern standards) backwoods kinds of food that can be found there, and I can't say that I'm any less amused.

Over the last few shopping trips Sarah and I have made, I have slowly accumulated a collection of photos of some of these foods. It's been a bit of a challenge, since a) I have to wait to take the photos until no one is around to see me being a total freak and taking pictures of canned foods, b) some of the pictures have turned out blurry and needed to be retaken since I can't use a flash, and c) I had two separate trips in which my camera batteries died. But I am pleased to inform you that during our latest trip I successfully crossed off everything on the photo list, and am now going to educate you about what can be found in good small-town Southern grocery stores. (I can assure you, the stores in Tallahassee are normal.)

Let's start out with the picture of the item that gave me the idea of blogging about this topic: clam juice. Supposedly (according to my dad, anyway) clam juice is not that uncommon, but the striking thing about this clam juice is that in the Sneads grocery store it is found right in the middle of all the Ocean Spray, Juicy Juice, and other kinds of juice that people actually buy to drink. I have no idea what clam juice is used for, but I hope it is not to drink.

This, my friends, is an entire section of shelf devoted solely to grits. Yes, every package you see in this picture contains grits. I don't feel like I need to make any further comments, except maybe to add that the hospital's cheese grits are one of the highlights of their three week cafeteria menu rotation. Really, I don't know why we don't eat them up north.

This picture shows two staples of the South: collard greens and turnip greens. I'm not a fan of either, but then again, I have only tasted the ones that the hospital prepares, and I've heard that you can't judge them until you have some that were made by a Southern grandma. The other day when we were at the store, there was also a big display of fresh greens, which are huge. I wasn't able to take a picture of them, but I was fascinated.

Field peas are one of the many varieties of peas that people eat down here, in addition to black eyed peas and other peas that I don't even remember the names of. I was mildly confused by the cafeteria specifying that they were serving "green peas" (as opposed to blue?) until I found out how many kinds of peas there are. Oh, how ignorant I would have been if I'd never moved to the South!

I know that this next food is not just a Deep South thing (based on the big picture of Texas on the label), but I had to include it due to my extreme fondness for okra. I have never tried "crisp okra pickles", but I think I may need to find some of the mild variety (instead of hot), because they sound incredible.

Just in case you were still under the misconception that they don't fry things here in the South, this picture should clear things up. You can see shrimp-fri, three varieties of fish-fri, and "wonderful chick-fri". I think there were more types of "fri", but unfortunately they didn't make it into the picture.

Can't make it out to a roadside boiled peanut stand? No worries, you can just swing by the grocery store and pick up a can of them! Although this picture only shows one variety, never fear: you will have your choice of at least four types. I enjoy hot boiled peanuts, but I have a feeling that the canned variety might be a little unfulfilling.

This is one of my favorite pictures, and also one that took the longest to obtain. Eventually I had to just take the picture and accept the fact that I'd never be able to do it without anyone around. What you are looking at are pickled eggs and pickled pigs feet. I know that the pigs feet can be found in other parts of the country, but do they come in that big of jars? And I had never heard of pickled eggs before adn am fairly certain that they are a regional thing. I've never eaten one, because my supervisor tells me that they are terrible and I should avoid them at all cost. Seriously, though, who buys that many pickled eggs? Do they eat them all?

This last picture may reveal a little immaturity on my part, but it is a Florida-produced item, so I figured it was fair game for this post. These jars are filled with Bad Byron's Butt Rub, which is possibly the best brand name I have ever heard. How could I not take a picture of it?

This concludes your tour of the Sneads grocery store, the place where the checker and bagger once looked at my green grocery bags I had put on the counter and asked me what they were. Oh yes, culture is alive and well here- just not in the sense that I normally think of it.