Our nutty love story began in a little town on the south side of the Ocala National Forest, where Joe met Rainie. Originally from very different backgrounds, Joe being from Nova Scotia and Rainie just a good ol’ southern girl from the south side of Orlando, they soon found much in common. Rainie would drive to the Ocala Forest to visit Joe, where he lived with his northern relatives. Rainie, being a southern girl, would often stop to grab a cup of boiled peanuts for her drive. She started showing up with these fresh juicy jumbos, and at first they had no interest in these toothsome treats. Eventually Rainie’s penchant for boiled peanuts piqued their interest, and soon she was bringing extra for her new boiled peanut loving converts!
Well, Joe loved Rainie and Rainie loved Joe, so they married (it is a love story after all!) and moved on to a new life in the mountains of upstate New York. Poor Rainie! There wasn’t a peanut stand to be found on the perimeter of any paved area! Joe found some raw peanuts, not an easy thing to do in the north, and made his first batch. His peanut pining wife was overjoyed! That first crock-pot creation was a far cry from the "Joe-riginal" peanut perfect recipe (in Rainie’s opinion) of today, but the flavor of love was there for all to taste.
Joe and Rainie traveled for work and pleasure, and everywhere they went Joe would be on the lookout for that basic ingredient, good raw peanuts. Joe made Rainie peanuts all across this beautiful land, from that first batch in the mountains of New York, they went on to the countryside of Connecticut, the city scene of D.C., south to Georgia, back to Florida , west to Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington. They eventually found themselves a little slice of heaven they could call their own in the mountains of east Tennessee. Joe made peanuts for Rainie as her special treat everywhere they went. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect! After 18 years of marriage, Joe’s "Joe-riginal" recipe are the absolute best nuts Rainie’s ever eaten,
and that’s saying a mouthful…
Today’s "Joe-riginal" recipe includes a variety of spices and vegetables, including baby carrots and potatoes. The Cajun recipe is under development as Joe hasn’t been working on it for 18 years, and currently includes spices, onions, garlic and a variety of jalapeños. Our taste testers all agree though, the current combo is fire!!