![]() ![]() Hoover has helped organize several food and wellness programs at The Soular Foods Garden, from a small-scale model of the Capital Area Food Bank’s Kids Café, to gardening and cooking classes for the BeHive after-school program, to conducting oral history interviews with elders (some over 90 years old!). The trailer became a community experience, with gardens planted by the Sustainable Food Center’s gardening classes, benches made by the neighborhood’s Alternative Learning Center, and family entertainment by local artists and musicians. He used the veggie-centric trailer to promote urban gardens and more balanced eating habits. In 2011, Hoover opened his first food trailer, The Soular Foods Garden, to bridge the gap between soulful cooking and fresh-from-the-garden food. The Manor Road restaurant also happens to be a stone’s throw away from his childhood home. Finally, he landed at home with Hoover’s Cooking, a Texas home-cooking restaurant that encompasses his culinary expertise: Southern, Tex-Mex, Cajun, and, of course, BBQ. Hoover honed his newfound skills over the next decade at other Austin institutions like Toulouse, Chez Fred, and Good Eats Café (where he was managing partner for six years). It was there that he came to learn the restaurant business from the ground up: bussing tables, washing dishes, bartending, working the line, planning menus, and finally, managing. He started working there for extra spending money, rolling out pie dough, making gumbo, and filling in for the head chef, Mr. Hoover's discovered his passion for food at the Night Hawk while he was attending the University of Texas. Akin was a pioneer of racial integration in Austin restaurants – for both customers and service staff. Harry Akin opened the doors of the Night Hawk in the early 1930s, and it was the first restaurant to stay open through dinner hours (hence the name). The Night Hawk restaurant holds a special place in both Austin's and Hoover’s history. He grew up eating what is now known as "farm-to-table." Hoover’s relationships with area farmers allow us to bring fresh, local food to our tables every day. Hoover recalls going out to the family farm in Utley, Texas and picking fresh peas, melons, greens, tomatoes from the field and watching his father butcher farm-raised meats. Hoover has always associated food with bringing people together, and the delicious and distinct flavors on our menu strive to bring together the melting pot of cultures and people who make up this great state. A native East Austinite and a fifth-generation Texan, Hoover and his cooking are inspired by the state itself. Hoover Alexander’s roots run deep through Texas. For 20 years, Hoover’s Cooking has been a force in Austin’s community. ![]() And don't get us started on it for big holidays-it's a favorite traditional Mardi Gras food and a must-have ingredient for summer recipes over the 4th of July! So whether it's a go-to ingredient for family meals or you're trying it for the first time, you'll want to try these okra recipes.Hoover's Cooking is Texas cooking. The point is that it's versatile: okra tastes just as good deep fried as it does being simmered to perfection in a rich and hearty jambalaya. Most people cook okra-by sautéing, blanching, or grilling it-so it's not slimy, although some people like it that way! That's because the texture lends itself as a great thickener for stews like gumbo. Okra pods are "mucilaginous," which means they produce an ooey gooey substance when cooked. Something else to know about okra? It can be slimy. It's good for you, too! The okra plant, typically in season from summer through early fall, is rich in nutrients like vitamin C and K. It's a common ingredient in Southern comfort food and it's found in Oklahoma where Ree harvests it in her homegrown herb and vegetable garden. Okra recipes often treat it as a vegetable traditionally used in soups, canning, or frying in a pan. ![]() It has a sweet, grassy flavor that's only enhanced in cooking. Wondering, what is okra? It's technically a fruit although that wouldn't be your first guess. "Then you haven't lived." That might seem like high praise for any fruit or vegetable, but that's how The Pioneer Woman describes okra. "Have you ever picked okra, then walked inside, washed it, cut it in half lengthwise, sprinkled salt on it, and eaten it?" asks Ree Drummond. ![]()
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