regional from afar

Recently, I saw a recipe for homemade pimento cheese, which was not so much a recipe as a short ingredient list (6 oz cheese, 2T pimentos, 3T sour cream, black pepper, red pepper flakes, lemon juice) -- and instantly it was what I craved.  I was at Trader Joe's for other pantry items and searched for pimentos with great hope and anticipation. A couple laps of the store and I found nothing. I consulted wikipedia from my phone (spoiled by my phone) to find out if pimentos* had another name.  Sadly, nothing that would help. I asked an employee and he verified they had no pimentos. 

Not fully defeated, I stopped at safeway, which was on the way home - and I was rewarded.  I first checked the olive bar and they had whole cherry peppers, so I knew that could be a back-up. I found the jarred olives and there on the top shelf was a small jar of pimentos - both minced and diced. Happily I bought my jar and came home. 

When I opened the jar I was happy again because I realized it was a company from East Tennessee, Moody Dunbar (from Johnson City, to be exact). 

Checking out their website, I have learned several interesting pimento facts:

"The history of the company begins with the founder, Thomas Moody Dunbar in 1933.  “Moody,” as he was called, was born into a poor family of nine children in rural East Tennessee.  The family survived by working on a small farm, as many did in those days.   Moody’s ambition was to get the best education he could so as to get off the farm.  By working his way through high school and college, in 1930, Moody earned his coveted B.A. degree, with a major in History.

After graduation, Moody went back to his rural roots to teach for eleven years in one-room schools throughout East Tennessee.  In 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, he decided to supplement his schoolteacher’s $65 monthly salary by selling pepper seeds.  From that small beginning, Moody Dunbar, Inc. has evolved into America’s leading processor of bell peppers, pimientos and sweet potatoes."

It isn't local to Arizona, but it makes me happy to support a company with East Tennessee roots. And the resulting product: the pimento cheese was tasty, but I forgot the lemon so it was not as creamy as usual. Still, it was very tasty and very enjoyed for lunch over the next few days.

*After a second perusal of wikipedia, I have learned about more pimento cheese - "As with many southern foods, its appeal crosses class boundaries. A pimento cheese sandwich may be a quick and cheap lunch for children, or it may be served as an elegant cocktail finger food (with crusts trimmed, a bit of watercress, and cut into triangles). Pimento cheese sandwiches are a signature item at The Masters Tournament." ^{Also, from the pimento article (which has a warning that it cites no sources), pimento cheese is popular in the southern U.S. and the Philippines.}