IDEAS SELLING TEXAS PRIDE

The notion’S as natural as green chili salsa-a catalog offering items handmade in Texas, by Texans, to expatriate Texans longing for a taste of home. What’ ; odd is that a fellow from Cleveland, who worked in Africa and Asia for 16 years as an Associated Press reporter, would be the one to think of it.

“I’d been to Oregon, and it has a catalog,” says Barry Schlacter, now a state reporter for the Fort Worth StarTelegram. “Oregon’s a nice little state that has a few interesting things, hut here’s Texas, with probably the most justified national pride, and it didn’t have a catalog,” he says.

After a few stumbling starts, now it does. The Great Texas Line offers knives made from the shin bones of formerly free-ranging steers, pecan pralines (called Armadillo chips), Hill Country mustard, Lone Star pecans, mesquite pens, Joe T. Garcia’s picante, and more. Yankee chefs can even learn to make fajitas. The recipe starts by explaining: “This is a cow.” Call 214-614-4310 for details.