Cajun Food Where You Find It
Cajun French: le goujon jaune (lu goo-jon jon) – catfish (yellow)
Sweet and tender catfish come from the Outlaw Katfish Kompany, Des Allemands, Louisiana and we wanted to keep that flavor. We decided to bake the catfish and serve it on a Cajun Grain Jasmine Rice dish with a citrus topping made with Plaquemines Parish L’Hoste Navel Oranges and Bocage Honey. These items were purchased from the Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge, La.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le chou (lu shoo) – cabbage
This week at the Red Stick Farmers Market, we purchased a bunch of Chinese Cabbage leaves. The leaves were to be used as wraps; we just were not sure for what. Waiting for inspiration we placed the leaves a glass of water adding beauty and freshness to our counter. While preparing Sunday breakfast, the leaves were calling and wraps were beginning. Just wilting the leaves adds a nutty flavor to the wraps.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Green Wraps”
Cajun French: le riz (lu ree) – rice
Rice is a staple in Cajun diets. There are many Cajuns who think rice should be served at every meal in some form, mainly rice and gravy. Rice is also important in many other cultures and Mujadarrah, lentils and rice, is one example. There are numerous recipes for this dish and for ours we added cayenne pepper and garlic, the Cajun influence.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Mujadarrah”
Cajun French: la soupe (la soop) – soup
This is a Mexican sopa seca, “dry soup”, which we have made Cajun. The reason it is called “dry soup” is that the pasta cooks in only the amount of liquid it can absorb. The dish lends itself well to being served as a side without seafood or meat. It is a great pot luck dinner dish.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Shrimp and Green Chile Cajun Pasta”
Cajun French: le plie (lu plee) – flounder
Thanksgiving will be our first holiday since we became pescatarians. Not having turkey does not bother us, yet we were trying to decide what to prepare that would make a great presentation. We purchased a 2# flounder from the Anna Marie at the Red Stick Farmers Market and it was a beautiful fish. Stuffing the flounder was fun since as usual it was a building process. Once stuffed, we realized this was the perfect Thanksgiving dish. Now we are hoping that Melissa from the Anna Marie will have another beautiful founder for us to stuff for Thanksgiving.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: l’ail (l’a-ee) – garlic
Having crabmeat and greens in the frig and needing to use them, we decided to put them together and serve with pasta and lots of garlic. This dish will make everyone smile and go back for seconds and thirds. The dish could be turned into a casserole and would be great for a pot luck.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: la feve (la fev) – bean
In a truck stop in Alliance, NE we saw a five pound sack of dried Pinto Beans. Looking closer, we realized the beans were processed and packaged in Alliance. Always on the lookout for local items, we couldn’t resist. Beans are a staple in our diet; we cook them once a week on average. They are versatile food which can be used as an entrée, vegetable, or snack.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le vinaigre (lu veen-eg) – vinegar
This is a simple and quick grilling recipe that is full of flavor. The balsamic vinegar adds sweetness to the shrimp and complements the sweet potatoes. We eat plenty shrimp and are always looking for new ways to cook shrimp. Although grilling is not new, the addition of balsamic vinegar is a new twist in preparation.
The sweet potato fingerlings were a find at the Junction City, KS Farmers Market. We have used potato fingerlings yet had never seen sweet potato fingerlingers. The fingerlingers were great for grilling, were sweet and complemented the shrimp perfectly.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Grilled Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fingerlings”
Cajun French: la tomate (la to-mat) – tomato
We bought green tomatoes at the Red Stick Farmers Market specifically for frying. Yet we did not want to batter and deep fry the tomatoes. From somewhere in our gray matter we remembered a chef preparing fried green tomatoes with just cornmeal so we decided to give it a try. We use a locally ground cornmeal, Alexander Mill Stone Ground Yellow Cornmeal. We seasoned the cornmeal with Cajun seasoning and used the juice from the tomato for the binder and then we pan fried them. Cooking them in the manner gives you more of the tomato taste and not so much batter. Give them a try!
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Fried Green Tomatoes with Militello’s Cajun Cocktail Sauce”
Cajun French: l’ail (l’a-ee) – garlic
Having purchased a bunch of young kale at the farmers market, we were trying to decide how to use it in a different way. Pasta sounded good since we had not made anything with pasta in a while. We also had farmers market Creole red onion, peppers and garlic; so veggie pasta it would be. There were two stuffed crabs left that would add more flavor. A side salad of tomato, avocado, and shallots would round out the meal.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
