Throw Me A Moon Pie Mister

So What's All The Fuss About Moon Pies?

Here is the breakdown:  They are inexpensive and easily accessible.  So why do we all stand on the sides of the streets jumping up and down - hollering "Throw Me A Moon Pie Mister"?  There is nothing more exciting at a Mardi Gras Parade, than catching a Flying Moon Pie.  Not to mention they are yummy too. 

This tale is often retold, the tossing of Moon Pies came about when the City of Mobile outlawed Cracker Jack as a Mardi Gras throw. During that time, the Cracker Jack snack only came in hard little boxes. As a result, throwing them was injuring people along the parade route, so the city banned them.

This wasn’t their first time to ban the throwing of certain throws. The City of Mobile had previously outlawed the throwing of confetti and paper streamers by the maskers on floats. They said this was simply due to the fact that it made too big of a mess in the streets.

Even before that, the mayor of Mobile had outlawed the throwing of flour in the very early years of Mardi Gras parades. The young maskers on floats were fond of throwing heaping handfuls of flour at proper gentlemen onlookers, covering their dark hats and overcoats in flour.

Anyway, somebody came up with Moon Pies as a substitute for Cracker Jack. They were fairly soft, yet they had enough heft to be thrown a good distance.

The city’s revelers responded enthusiastically to the snacks, and the Moon Pie has been an essential part of Mobile’s Mardi Gras ever since.

Just In Case You Have Sat Around Wondering How Moon Pie's Are Made.  Well Here You Have It. 

My personal favorite flavor Moon Pie is Chocolate.  They come in chocolate, vanilla, banana, orange, strawberry, lemon, chocolate mint, and chocolate peanut butter.  

So What Is Your Favorite Flavor?

In doing my research for this blog I found that Mobile is not the only City that has festivals holding the Moon Pie with such high regard.

If you travel to Bell Buckle, Tennessee, you can experience the R.C. - Moon Pie Festival, which will be held June 16, 2012 this year.

SO THROW YOURSELF ON SOME COMFY CLOTHES AND SHOES AND HEAD OUT TO THE PARADES.

AND TRY NOT TO EAT ALL YOUR MOON PIES BEFORE YOU GET HOME WITH THEM!!!

Cindy Lou...

HISTORY OF MARDI GRAS

Au contraire to what you might have thought - Mardi Gras "Did Not" Start in New Orleans.  It was first celebrated in Mobile, Alabama, and later adopted by New Orleans. 

"Mobile's Mardi Gras celebration was the first in America and remains an important part of Alabama's Gulf Coast culture." 

Mardi Gras was first observed when Mobile was a French colony, a century before the founding of Alabama. Today, thousands of Alabamians and visitors come to Mobile annually to participate in the various parades, which are sponsored by local mystic societies comprised of secret members. Presiding over the revelry are an elected king and queen, who are chosen each year from among the various societies. At the parades, spectators catch candy and trinkets thrown from elaborately decorated themed floats sponsored by the various mystic societies and take part in one of the America's oldest cultural celebrations.

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville et d'ArdillièresMardi Gras is a Catholic festival that traditionally begins 40 days before Easter and precedes the Lenten period. The name is French for "Fat Tuesday," which is the last day of merriment and feasting and refers to the traditional practice of eating a fattened calf in preparation for the fasting and self-sacrifice of Lent. Mardi Gras celebrations first came to what is now Alabama with the early French explorers, who were led by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville.  He recorded the first observance of Mardi Gras in Mobile in his journal in 1699. Men in the camp marked the occasion with feasts, dancing, and a night of masked revelry. The annual celebrations of the festival continued as control of the city passed from the French to the British and the Spanish and finally to the United States in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.

Knights of Reverly Float
Mardi Gras activities remained an important part of social celebration in south Alabama, but the festivities were not held during the traditional pre-Lenten period. The first American celebration was held, instead, on New Year's Eve in 1831, when a cotton broker named Michael Krafft and several of his friends held a spontaneous parade through downtown Mobile carrying rakes, cowbells, and other farming implements. When the young men's motive behind the revelry was questioned, Krafft wryly replied that they were the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, formed to celebrate the coming year. The Cowbellion parade became an annual affair with costumes, masks, and, by 1840, themed parades. By the 1850s, several Cowbellions had migrated to New Orleans, where they continued their traditions.

The Cowbellion Society was the first of what would be many such organizations, which became known as mystic societies because their membership was secret. It was made up of Mobile's upper-class young men, who refused to allow the city's numerous dockworkers and nonprofessional men into their ranks. Women also were excluded. Working-class Mobilians soon formed their own societies, however. In 1841, cotton warehouse workers founded the Strikers Independent Society, named for the act of striking, or marking, cotton bales for shipping.

Joe Cain
The Civil War brought a halt to such celebratory activities, and in April 1865, Union troops took control of the city. Mobile's Mardi Gras festivities resumed unexpectedly the following year when Joseph Stillwell Cain, a local clerk and former member of the Tea Drinkers Mystic Society, lead a parade through the occupied city dressed as a fictional Indian named Chief Slackabamarinico. Cain exuberantly declared an end to Mobile's suffering and signaled the return of the city's parading activities, to the delight of local residents. He also succeeded in moving Mobile's celebration from New Year's Eve to the traditional Fat Tuesday. Older societies such as the Cowbellions and the Striker's continued to hold their parades on New Year's Eve, but soon Mobile's carnival season revolved around Fat Tuesday.

During and after Reconstruction, Mardi Gras became the premier event of the city's social elite and a way of celebrating the Lost Cause. New societies representing different portions of the city's diverse population began to appear. The Order of Myths (OOM), established in 1867, chose as its emblem Folly chasing Death around a broken column, imagery that was seen by many as a symbol of the "Lost Cause." At the end of the traditional OOM parade, Death is defeated, and Folly wins the day. In 1870, a group of young men between the ages of 18 and 21 formed the Infant Mystics, probably because they were too young to join other societies. The Knights of Revelry (KOR), formed in 1874. Their emblem of Folly dancing in a champagne glass between two crescent moons remains a familiar site during Mardi Gras parades

                  Mardi Gras Party Invitation 1900

By the 1870s, the Carnival season in Mobile had become much more elaborate than earlier celebrations. Mobile's mystic societies sponsored expensive private balls after their parades. During these events, members participated in elaborate themed-plays, called tableaux, which were usually similar in theme to the society's parade theme. The various mystic societies remained isolated during these activities. In 1871, a group of businessmen and city boosters formed the Mobile Carnival Association to organize and structure the various events and serve as a link among the various societies. This was the first attempt to coordinate the public activities of the individual societies. The association also introduced the practice of naming a Mardi Gras emperor, named King Felix, for each season. The association brought about an increase in Mardi Gras activity, and by 1880 the event had grown even larger. In 1884, a group of Jewish men, headed by clerk Dave Levi, formed the Comic Cowboys. They had been banned from other societies because of

Knights of Revelry Float, 1895anti-Semitism and thus organized each year's parade as a satirical look at current events. Behind the motto "Without Malice," the Comic Cowboys poked fun at local customs, politicians, and other mystic societies. Beginning in 1917, the Comic Cowboys Queen, known as "Little Eva," was portrayed as a large, transvestite woman.

Despite the increase in the number of societies and participants in Mobile's Mardi Gras, festivities remained largely spectators' events. Mystic societies were closed to working-class and most minority citizens, as well as women. Even the KOR and the Comic Cowboys maintained strict qualifications for membership. It was not until 1890 that the first women's society, the MWM, was organized and held its first ball. The first female parading society, the Polka Dots, was not founded until 1949.

Mobile's African American community had played an important but secondary role in parading societies for several decades, beginning in the 1890s. Before this time, African Americans walked alongside the horse-drawn floats and did not participate in society events. Mobile's African American community watched the various parades but had no mystic societies or Carnival balls of their own until the Order of Doves was established in 1894. The Doves held their first ball in the Gilmer Rifles Armory and continued to host balls until 1914. The first African American parading society, the Knights of May Zulu, organized by float-builder A. S. May in 1938, paraded along Mobile's Davis Avenue until 1952. By 1940, more and more African American societies had formed and begun 

Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association's King and Queenparading, and the groups founded the Colored Carnival Association (CCA) to coordinate the activities of the societies and schedule parades. The CCA, renamed the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA) in the 1970s, set up a voting system that allowed members to elect a "mayor" to serve as grand marshal of their parades. The African American celebration has its own king, named Elixis. The first king of Mobile's African American Mardi Gras was Mobile politician Alex Herman. His daughter, former U.S. secretary of labor Alexis Herman, served as queen in 1974.

Despite inroads by minority groups, the vast majority of working-class revelers were still only spectators to the annual celebrations. In the 1930s, there was a public masquerade ball at the city wharf on Dauphin Street. But pressure from various mystic societies put a quick end to the popular event, which they felt conflicted with their own traditions and activities. Society members perceived that public Carnival balls diminished the prestige that came with membership in the secretive and highly selective mystic societies. Only two other such balls occurred in 1949 and 1952. In 1962, the recently-formed Le Krewe de Bienville hosted an open ball for Mobile citizens and tourists.

Excelsior Band at Cain's Grave 1967The campaign to make Mobile's Mardi Gras more inclusive achieved its greatest success, however, when local author  Julian Lee Rayford set out to honor Joe Cain for reviving Mardi Gras in Mobile. Rayford's first act commemorating the savior of Mobile's Mardi Gras tradition was to transport Cain's body from a cemetery in Bayou La Batre to the Church Street Graveyard in downtown Mobile. Cain was interred with all the pomp and revelry of a Mardi Gras parade, with a jazz-band procession and throngs of mourners. The burial and commemoration of Cain was so popular that Rayford and others decided to make it an annual event, held the Sunday before Fat Tuesday. They instituted the Joe Cain Day Parade (also known as The People's Parade) to the Church Street Graveyard, led by a person dressed as Chief Slackabamirinico, and it quickly became one of the most popular Mardi Gras events. Thousands of spectators gather in the old graveyard, listen to Mobile's Excelsior Band, and marvel as Cain is memorialized by Mobilians dancing atop his grave. 

Cain's Merry Widows
When the ceremony begins in the graveyard, several veiled women dressed in mourning robes, know as Cain's Merry Widows, cry aloud and lament his loss to the world. Joe Cain Day remains one of the most popular events of Mobile's Mardi Gras celebration, and its public parade is seen by many Mobilians as a response to the stiffness of the traditional mystic societies.

Mardi Gras means various things to different segments of Mobile's population. Some see the events as a tremendous boost to the city's economy. Others see the annual merriment as a constant economic and moral drain on the city. Each year, Mobile's Carnival activities grow in size and cost. What began as a one-day celebration before Lent has evolved into weeks of carefully scripted events, culminating with the day-long parade of mystic societies through the downtown streets on Fat Tuesday. But the mystic societies remain largely separated by race.

Mardi Gras Marching Band
In 2003, the Conde Explorers became the first and only racially mixed parading society in Mobile. The founding of the Conde Explorers also reflects an important contrast between Carnival in Mobile and New Orleans, where several of the oldest mystic societies voted to stop parading rather than comply with local ordinances requiring their complete integration. Tensions are less openly expressed during Mobile's festivities, possibly because they are not as severe and possibly because of the tradition of sponsoring parades and balls for predominantly African American communities in the city, began by MAMGA. Despite all of this, Carnival in Mobile remains, in Julian Lee Rayford's words, the city's "civic safety-valve." 

Thousands of Mobilians and tourists fill downtown parade routes and await incoming treats. The multi-colored beads thrown in other cities are considered skimpy fare in Mobile, where floats are piled high with toys, candy, and Mobile's signature treat: the Moonpie. Mardi Gras remains an integral part of the cultural celebration of French tradition along the Gulf Coast. Smaller cities in Mobile and Baldwin counties have recently begun holding their own parades, ensuring that the Mardi Gras tradition in South Alabama will continue into the future.

"Article taken from the Encyclopedia of Alabama; Mobile"

Hope You Found This Interesting and Learned Something You Did Not Know!!!

Cindy Lou...

2012 MOBILE MARDI GRAS PARADE SCHEDULE

Les Bon Temps Roule

"Let The Good Times Roll"

Saturday, Jan. 21: 1 p.m., Krewe De La Dauphine Parade Dauphin Island

Saturday, Jan. 28: 1 p.m., Island Mystics Parade Dauphin Island

Friday, Feb. 3: 6:30 p.m., Conde Cavaliers Parade

Saturday, Feb. 4: 2:30 p.m., Bayport Parading Society Parade; 6:30 p.m., Pharaoh's Mystic Society Parade; 7 p.m., Conde Explorers Parade

Thursday, Feb. 9: 6:30 p.m., Order of the Polka Dots Parade

Friday, Feb. 10: 6:30 p.m., Order of the Inca Parade

Saturday, Feb. 11: 2 p.m., Mobile Mystics Parade; 6:30 p.m., Maids of Mirth Parade; 7 p.m., Order of Butterfly Maidens Parade; 7 p.m. Knights of Ecor Rouge in downtown Fairhope; 7:30 p.m., Krewe of Marry Mates Parade

Sunday, Feb. 12: 6:30 p.m., Neptune's Daughters Parade; 7 p.m., Order of Isis Parade

Monday, Feb. 13: 6:30 p.m., Mobile Mystical Ladies Parade; 7 p.m., Order of Venus Parade

Tuesday, Feb. 14: 6:30 p.m., Order of LaShe Parade

Thursday, Feb. 16: 6:30 p.m., Mystic Striper Parade

Friday, Feb. 17: 6:30 p.m., Crewe of Columbus Parade; 6:30 p.m. Maids of Jubilee in downtown Fairhope; 6:45 p.m.,  Mystic Order of Persephone parade in Olde Town Daphne; 7 p.m., Maids of Jubilee parade in Fairhope.

Saturday, Feb. 18: Noon, Floral Parade; 12:30 p.m., Knights of Mobile Parade; 1 p.m., Order of Angels Parade; 2 p.m., Krewe of Mullett Mates on Baldwin 1 in Fairhope; 5:30 p.m., Mystics of Pleasure in on Perdido Beach Boulevard in Orange Beach; 6 p.m., Mystics of Time Parade; 6:30 p.m., Coronation of Queen to King Felix III Mobile Convention Center; 6:45 p.m., Shadow Barons in Daphne

Sunday, Feb. 19: 2 p.m., Arrival of King Elexis I (at foot of Government Street); 2 p.m., Loyal Order of the Firetruck, Daphne in Mayday Park and through neighborhoods of Old Towne Daphne; 2:30 p.m., Joe Cain Parade; 5 p.m., Le Krewe de Bienville Parade; 5:30 p.m., Order of Mystic Magnolias in Fairhope; 8:15 p.m., Coronation of King Elexis, Mobile Civic Center

Monday, Feb. 20: 11 a.m., Arrival of King Felix III (at foot of Government Street) followed by King Felix III Parade at noon; 1 p.m., Floral Parade; 3 p.m., MLK Business and Civic Organization Parade (rolls on Route D); 3:30 p.m., MLK Monday Nighter Mystics Parade (rolls on Route D); 4 p.m., Northside Merchants (rolls on Route D); 6:30 p.m., Infant Mystics Parade

Fat Tuesday, Feb. 21 (Mardi Gras Day): 10 a.m., Gulf Shores Parade on Highway 50 from Lulu's/Intracoastal Bridge to East Beach Boulevard at The Hangout; 10:30 a.m., Order of Athena Parade; noon, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach combo parade on East Beach Boulevard from The Hangout to Perdido Pass Bridgel 12:30 p.m., Knights of Revelry Parade; 1 p.m., King Felix Parade; 1:30 p.m., Comic Cowboys Parade; 2 p.m., Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (rolls on Route B); 6:30 p.m., Order of Myths Parade (rolls on Route C)

MAKE YOUR OWN KING CAKE

• Ingredients 
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for bowl and baking sheet
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 (1/4-ounce) package active-dry yeast
• 1/3 cup warm (110 degrees) water
• 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• Sanding sugar, for garnish

!!! NOMMY, NOM, NOM !!!

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine evaporated milk, butter, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar over medium heat until incorporated; remove from heat. Let cool slightly, and stir in vanilla; set aside.
2. Stir 1 tablespoon granulated sugar into warm water. Add yeast, and set aside until mixture begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, butter a large bowl; set aside.
3. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together eggs and milk mixture on medium speed; add yeast mixture. Mix until combined. Gradually add flour, beating until fully incorporated.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth. Place in prepared bowl, turning several times to coat. Let rise, covered with wax paper and a clean damp towel, in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
5. Once dough has doubled, punch down with your fist, and knead a few times in the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface; and divide evenly into six pieces. Roll each piece into a log, about 24 inches long. Braid 3 logs together; shape each braid into an oval, pressing the ends together to seal. Transfer to two buttered baking sheets; cover with wax paper, and let sit in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once dough has doubled in size, discard wax paper, and bake until just golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool slightly.
7. In a medium bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar with remaining 1/4 cup milk to form a smooth, thick glaze. Add more sugar or milk, if necessary, for desired consistency. Working quickly, coat cakes with glaze, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Make Your Own King Cake

Happy Baking,

Cindy Lou...

King Cake 101

Much to my disapproval (because I am trying to diet) my daughter brought in our first King Cake of the 2012 Mardi Gras Season.  Every time she has seen one this year she has tried to put it in the buggy, and I said NO.  Well mistake #1 was sending her to the grocery store by herself with a small list Saturday afternoon.  So I go out to the car to help her unload the groceries.  She was bent down in the trunk carefully getting out an awkward bag and she did not see me standing there, and as she turns around with the bag in hand, she meets me eye to eye (with a deer caught in the headlights look) the first thing out of her mouth was, "Mom, I am sorry, don't be mad at me, It just looked so yummy and fresh).  Like I was really going to be mad, but I laughed so hard at her apology and explanation for the purchasing of the King Cake.

For those of you whom have no idea what I am taking about when I refer to our "First King Cake of the 2012 Mardi Gras Season".  

Here is King Cake 101:

HISTORY BEHIND MARDI GRAS KING CAKE

The King Cake is believed to have originated in France around the 12th Century.  These early Europeans celebrated the coming of the three wise men bearing gifts twelve days after Christmas calling it the feast of the Epiphany, Twelfth Night or King's Day.

The main part of the celebration was the baking of a King Cake to honor the three Kings.  The cakes were made circular to portray the circular route used by the Kings to get to the Christ Child.  In these early King Cakes, a bean a pea or a coin was hidden inside the cake.  The person who got the hidden piece was declared King for the day, or was said to have good luck in the coming year.

As for the Home of Mardi Gras, Twelfth Night also signifies the beginning of the Carnival season, which ends on Mardi Gras Day.  The beans, peas and coins have been replaced by a small plastic baby to symbolize the Christ Child. The person who gets the baby is expected to carry on the carnival festivities by hosting the next King Cake Party.

 Yes, of course, I have cut into the King Cake more than a couple of times to find out that I had the BABY.  And as lame as it may sound to some, it is so exciting to those of us that are a part of the Mardi Gras Tradition.

If you are wondering if it is as good as it is pretty.
YES.  Here is what is left of ours!

Some of you may have now found yourself wishing that you could have a Mardi Gras King Cake.  Well, you can.  There are plenty of places in the Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans area that specialize in the baking of King Cakes and shipping them to any place your heart desires.

So You Should Google Today and Find Out Where You Can Get Yours.  And If You Can't Find A Place, Just Drop Me A Note Below and I Can Hook You Up.

Hoping You Find The Baby!!!

Cindy Lou...

Join Me In Supporting 'TEAM STARLA" - AJ McCarron Is!!!

STARLA HAS SWEPT THE WORLD'S HEARTS AWAY WITH HER INCREDIBLE FAITH AND ENDURANCE & THAT BEAUTIFUL ATTITUDE, FACE & SMILE!!!

JOIN "TEAM STARLA" ON FACEBOOK AND JOIN HER MOTHER, FATHER, FAMILY & FRIENDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD IN PRAYING FOR THE HEALING OF THIS PRECIOUS BABY ANGEL GIRL!!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Starla-Support-Page/246363622077436

This is the support page for Starla's journey with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. This may include a bit more information than the prayer page, and will also include upcoming benefits for her as well.

ALL PICTURES ON THIS BLOG ARE PROPERTY OF TEAM STARLA ON FACEBOOK

PICTURE PROPERTY OF TEAM STARLA ON FACEBOOK

PICTURE PROPERTY OF TEAM STARLA ON FACEBOOK
STARLA'S STORY

On Sept. 13, at USA Childrens and Womens Hospital, our family was shaken with the devastating news that our then 2 year old daughter Starla had been diagnosed with a rare leukemia in children known as Acute Myeloid Leukemia. We immediately began Induction I of chemotherapy on September 14th. 

Starla went into remission during Induction I of chemotherapy, and began another round of chemo on October 27, 2011.

There is a benefit account set-up for Starla at any Regions Bank location. Simply let the teller know that you would like to make a donation to the Starla Chapman benefit account opened in Mobile, AL

You may also add Starla to your skype contacts: justtrust_god

Mail May be sent to:

USA Childrens & Womens Hospital
C/O Starla Chapman Rm. #511-512
1700 Center St.
Mobile, AL. 36604

(ALL PICTURES ON THIS BLOG ARE PROPERTY OF TEAM STARLA ON FACEBOOK)

AJ McCarron Supports "Team Starla"

A Christmas visit from Alabama football quarterback AJ McCarron. He left with a Team Starla bracelet that he will be wearing during the National Championship game against LSU!!! And He Came Back To Visit Again On Saturday January 14th, 2012.

Southern Belle Supports "Team Starla"

Southern Belle fundraiser- the shirt will be Teal blue with the writing and etc. in the colors cream, pink and brown Okay, everyone, my fingers got ahead of me....pricing for the shirts are as follows: $18.00 adults sizes Small up to 2XL $18.50 3XL THESE SHIRTS CAN BE ORDERED THROUGH WEPAY @ SOUTHERN BELLE. BY CLICKING HERE IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE WEPAY LINK

JOIN TEAM STARLA TODAY!!!

YOUR PRAYERS & SUPPORT ARE NEEDED!!!

Cindy Lou...