Cajun Food Where You Find It
Cajun French: la tarte (la tart) – pie
Steamed veggies for dinner, that was the plan. Then John’s brain went into action and a savory stuffed pie came out. There was a pie crust and some marinara in the frig along with various fresh veggies. Fresh spinach was in our veggie bed outside just begging to be cut so all ingredients came together for our dinner.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: la patate douce (la pa-tat doos) – sweet potato
Laurie found a recipe for sweet potato black bean chili (http://bit.ly/1csOWxI) from Eating Well on Pescetarian Living Facebook Group. Immediately Laurie was interested; John not so much. But John was willing to give it a try. We adapted the recipe to our liking and it was a hit for both of us.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili with Grilled Shrimp”
Cajun French: l’année qui vien (l’an-ā kee-vee-ain) – New Year
Cabbage and Black Eyed Peas – it’s tradition on New Year’s Day. Okay we get that and enjoy the duo every January 1st no matter where we are. But sometimes we just need something different so creative brains went to work. Outcome – Creole Shrimp and Cabbage Jambalaya. We may have cooked it in an unorthodox way but it worked and was delicious!
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Creole Shrimp and Cabbage Jambalaya – New Year’s Day”
Cajun French: le coco (lu kō-kō) – coconut
Cajun…Curry…maybe not exactly but Cajuns are adaptable and we are always using interesting ingredients.
The interesting ingredient was Coconut Cream. We use coconut milk but had never tried cream and could not resist. Curry naturally followed along with cashews and turmeric and then came the rest of the ingredients. The results were amazing. The only thing we would change or John would change is using the entire can of coconut cream so there would be more sopping sauce.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le spinach (lu spinach) – spinach
We are participating in an “Elf4Health Challenge” and it was Meatless Monday. For us that was not a problem but we wanted something different. Spinach was in the frig and our first thought was sauté spinach with onions and garlic. Opening the veggie drawer, fennel showed it face and an additional ingredient was added. As with most of our recipes ingredients were added and left out as we cooked. The end result was amazing with the fennel adding a unique flavor.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Fennel and Spinach Sauté over Pasta”
Cajun French: la tarte (la tart) – pie
Fennel made its appearance at the Farmers Market this week and Laurie was very excited. We like to use the entire plant and are always looking for different ways to prepare the fennel. After much discussion, we decided on a fennel pie with shrimp and other vegetables.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Fennel Pie”
Cajun French: le melon doux (lu m’lon doo) – watermelon
Watermelon and shrimp – two of our favorites. That said, it took John a moment to agree to use them together in a dish. Laurie was ready in fact she is always up for a combination of foods. Once John agreed we took to the kitchen and salad making. As usual we wanted to give the dish a Cajun flair so we introduced Cajun olive oil and local honey along with cane vinegar. The ingredients were purchased at our local farmers market with the mint coming from our herb patch.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Watermelon Salad with Grilled Shrimp”
Cajun French: la dépense (la dā-pons) – pantry
Vodka sauce sounds so romantic and enticing. Each time the pantry was opened the vodka sauce was staring at us. Four large mushrooms, two stuffed crabs and vodka sauce, dinner was in the making. Add seasoning and pasta and the romance was waiting.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: bourrer (boor-ā) – stuff
Leftover beans and rice again. What can we combine them with this time? We enjoy stuffed grape leaves for snacks. The last ones we purchased had very tough leaves so we had been using the stuffing in dishes. Mayonnaise was used as the binder and a stuffing for Jalapenos was beginning. The mayonnaise also gives a richness to the peppers. This dish is a great snack or side for a salad.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: l’huite (l’ū-eet) – oyster
Fresh Louisiana oysters are salty sweet and taste like no other oysters. When we purchased the oysters, we knew how we wanted to cook them, simply in olive oil with pasta. Avocado oil was used to give the dish a buttery taste and it adds richness. This dish is easy to prepare but makes a gourmet meal.
Mais C’est Bon!
