Barbi Motisi has the gift of turning skeptics into believers once they taste some of her boiled peanuts at the Stuart Green Market. Each week she warms up three batches of boiled peanuts (peanuts in their shells that are cooked in spices). Choices appeal to individual preference, from regularly seasoned, moderately seasoned with  Cajun spices, to hot and spicy.

Getting over the hurdle

“Have you ever tried boiled peanuts?,” Barbi asks a couple passing by. Actually,  she first asks  if they would like to try a sample. Most people think boiled peanuts amount to a handful of soggy nuts — but not these.  They are cooked in a precise manner resulting in a tasty bean snack.

Proper way to eat

Sampling is part of the lesson. Barbi demonstrates the right way to remove the peanut from the shell, which is discarded. Yes there is a right and wrong way to do it.  Everyone gets to sample the boiled peanuts, even long-time fans of the snack.

Drive thru

At Barbi’s you can get some to eat while you stroll at the market, order them packaged to take home and enjoy, or take a frozen bag full, for eating later as well to use in recipes such as Barbi’s original recipe for boiled peanut hummus.  Barbi could almost set up a drive thru booth for all of the football fans who dash in and out on Sunday morning,  picking up boiled peanuts to snack on while watching the afternoon NFL games.  But if you can’t wait for Sunday,  call Barbi at 772-530-5651 and pick up a bag now.

Barbi Boiled Peanuts can also be found at the  Fort Pierce Farmers Market on Saturdays.