“You better Czech yourself before you wreck yourself.” ~me
It doesn’t take long for me to repeat myself. You may remember a few months ago—if you’ve been reading my blog posts so far—when I summarized an earlier quest held last year to find the best kolaches in Texas. I drove around many backroads and highways and interstates, I ate a lot of kolaches, and well, I was reminded of how beautiful my home state is in the spring.
Much like last week, I didn’t need the reminder, but still there it was.
Texas Independence Day
A somewhat new tradition for Peter and me (Liberty has also been involved and as of this year, Peyton has, too), is to run the annual Texas Independence Day 5K at the Battle of San Jacinto Memorial in La Porte, Texas.
This year, the 5K actually did occur on Texas Independence Day, which is March 2nd.
It’s a 5K to add to our annual “quota” but it also supports a great cause (the historical site) and its setting is usually beautiful and inspiring on an early morning.
The first time I ran the 5K there at the battleground site, I felt like there was no way I shouldn’t be in the mood to run a mere 3 miles or so when so many men gave so much all those years ago. A war for freedom and independence from any tyranny makes for great incentive, and always brings a reminder of perspective like few other things can.
At least for me anyway.
I won’t make this blog post about Texas history or the war for Texas independence (yes, we were once our own country!), but if you’d like to learn more about San Jacinto, please click here: https://www.sanjacinto-museum.org
Post-Run Fun
Depending on the year, we usually reward ourselves post-run with one or more or all of the following: Shipley’s Donuts (they are always a sponsor of the race), a burger at one of our favorite burger joints in Houston, a kolache (or two) at Oakridge Smokehouse in Schulenburg, and maybe a search for bluebonnets. All of these things are convenient as we make our way back home to San Antonio.
I did get my donut (although the first one I grabbed was snatched out of my hand by Peyton…) but we didn’t stop for a burger this year, instead opting to get lunch at the somewhat new Buc-ee’s in Katy. And while we did take the long scenic way home swinging through La Grange, we didn’t see many bluebonnets. At least not enough to take the iconic bluebonnet photo (with our dogs).
Texas State Flower
For those of you who aren’t Texans or familiar with them, bluebonnets are the state flower of Texas, and only bloom or flower in the spring. They are of the annual variety, and they sometimes only last a few weeks, although some years they can be seen longer.
The blue-purple flowers carpet many roads and highways all along the state and Texans plan road trip events with cameras in hand to get the perfect photo. Many a Texan (although I’m not one of them) have a photo of themself as a baby, sitting in a patch of beautiful bluebonnets.
I have photos from varying years of my dog Liberty in bluebonnets. I wanted to get one of Peyton this year, but alas we couldn’t find a decent patch worthy of a photo.
Maybe next year. Or later this month if we make it out into the Texas Hill Country.
This day, I’d have to settle for another of my favorite Texas traditions: kolaches. More specifically, my favorite lemon kolache.
Back in 2015, we found bluebonnets aplenty! 
Liberty with Peter.
Tastes Like Texas
As a kid, my family lived in New Orleans for many years, and we made too-many-to-count drives home to San Antonio along Interstate 10.
A frequent and popular stop for my brothers and me was Oakridge Smokehouse in Schulenburg.
Like many places of its kind, it’s not much to look at. It’s been around forever, has one of those iconic signs you might always see growing up, eventually taking for granted; it’s one of those places that your grandparents or parents took you, maybe on Sunday afternoon after church or during the week for an early supper. The food isn’t Michelin star rated, but it’s consistent, and good, and tastes like Texas.
Oakridge has a sit down restaurant but also a small storefront where you can buy a soda or some beef jerky or one or more of the many baked goods behind the glass displays next to the cash register.
I probably can’t count how many times I’ve run in there to grab a drink and a kolache to go.
I do realize—from living elsewhere and traveling abroad—that hearing Texas makes people think of many things: cowboys, guns, horses, The Alamo, maybe my Dallas Cowboys, or JR Ewing, and none of these things are wrong.
If you grow up in Texas though, you may first think of your family or your high school football team or how many generations your family can claim being Texan (mine goes way back, to when Texas was New Spain, thank you very much…) or maybe you think of food. And if you do think of food, you may think of BBQ (beef brisket barbecue that is) or Tex-Mex or Gulf shrimp or chili or nachos.
Or kolaches.
Texas Czech Kolaches
According to the Shipley’s website https://www.shipleydonuts.com/what-is-kolache/ (yes, they also sell kolaches), kolaches “came to us from the Eastern European nation of Czechoslovakia (now known as the Czech Republic), the pillowy pastry originated as a semi-sweet or savory dessert served at weddings and dates as far back as the 1700s. In a nod to their shape, the dessert name is derived from the Old Slavic language word “kolo” meaning circle or wheel. Designed to be fluffy enough to hold a dollop of fruit or other filling, the pastry is as light as it is flavorful. They evolved from a wedding delight into a snack to be enjoyed anytime.”
The website goes on to note that “like so many great things in America, the kolache came to Texas with settlers from Europe around the mid-1800s. They made central and south-central Texas their new home, settling into the foothills and prairies of the region. At that time, more than 200 different Czech communities were established, and with them, the kolache-traditions remained strong.
Even today, the Czech contingent in the area continues to be vibrant, affectionately referred to as the Czech Belt. Whether the pastry became so popular in Texas because of its on-the-go versatility or simply because it reminded Europeans of home, the kolaches foothold throughout Texas is clear.”
Thank you, Shipley’s!
Sweet & Savory
Yep, kolaches come in savory and sweet varieties, although the real name for the savory version is klobasnek. But, in the same way we’ve changed many a name of something else through the years, Texans pretty much call all of them kolaches.
And I probably have repeated myself somewhere on this website of mine, but when it comes to the sweet kolaches, I will always choose lemon over chocolate or any other sweet flavor. That actually goes for any dessert, really. I’m all about the lemon. Lemon pie, lemon cake, lemon cookies? Let me at ‘em! And so it should come as no surprise that when it comes to kolaches, I look for the ones with the sweet yellow curd that becomes lemon filling.
When life gives us lemons, be grateful that someone, somewhere in Texas, is making kolaches!
One of My Favorite Things
You may be thinking, or have thought as you’ve read my blog the last few months, that I have very specific tastes and favorite things, and you’d be right. I love kolaches, and I love lemon flavored anything, so I must have one lemon kolache that I prefer over all the others, right?
Right.
The lemon kolaches at Oakridge are my favorite sweet kolaches, and it’s still one of my favorite stops along I-10 on the way home. These days I usually get two lemon kolaches (one for the car, one for home) and chances are, that like last week, whenever I can have one of my favorite things in the whole wide world, it’s going to rank as the best thing I ate that week.
Simple, true, and very Texas.
Elda XO
Want to visit Oakridge Smokehouse? Well, you should! Check them out here, and be sure to try a lemon kolache: http://www.oakridge-smokehouse.com
The new Buc-ee’s in Katy ain’t too shabby either: https://buc-ees.com/locations.php
