Cajun Food Where You Find It
Cajun French: le maïs (lu ma-ee) – corn
There is nothing like a cool salad on a hot summer day on the bayou.
This dish uses some great Cajun flavors to make this unique salad. Just imagine yourself sitting on a dock with feet dangling in the water eating this salad and sipping a glass of crisp white wine.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Bayou Side Shrimp Salad with Cajunville Vinaigrette”
Cajun French: l’oignon (l’on-ee-on) – onion
Sometimes we try to make things too complicated by using many and varied ingredients. We are trying to make some of our recipes simple, easy, quick and healthy. So began “Simple Combinations”, where we use two to three ingredients for the main item. It is easy to add fresh fruit, bread and/or fresh vegetables.
Here is another “Simple Combination” using eggs and Creole onions to make a quick and healthy meal. Chopping the onion takes the longest amount of time. While the onions are cooking, slice the tomato and cut fresh fruit. The sweetness of the cooked Creole onions along with fresh eggs, both from the Red Stick Farmers Marekt, made an incredible combination.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: Juliet (Jūl-ee-et) – July
It is 4th of July party time.
Wanting a dish that would reflect the red, white, and blue of the day yet not wanting to make the usual sweet treats, we brainstormed. Knowing hummus is always a hit with our group, we decided to make two different types and garnish with peppers. It is a pretty good red, white, and blue rendition. It was fun to make and received great comments.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: déjeuner (dā-ju-nā) – breakfast
Okay, so we are not having just Bloody Marys for brunch but they sure make preparing brunch more interesting.
It’s the 4th of July and we were being very lazy just enjoying the morning. After drinking more coffee than anyone should, it was time to think about food. Opening the fridge and taking lots of items out, what the heck go for the Bloody Marys. Now with drink in hand, we decided to fix eggs with everything taken out of the fridge.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: patriotisme – patriotism
The July 2nd Red Stick Farmers Market began this morning with the National Anthem played by a single
trumpeter, John Gray. He began at one end of the market and walked slowly playing the National Anthem to the other end of the market. Everyone was in awe!
What a way to begin the July 4th Weekend!
Cajun French: le café (lu ka-fā) – coffee
The alarm sounds @ 5:30 am! I smell coffee and that helps a little. A cup of coffee later consciousness begins and I realize it’s time for a shower. By 7:30 we’re pulling out of the driveway heading for a farmers market — today is Saturday!
No matter where we are, we look for a Farmers Market to shop. Most frequently we are in the Baton Rouge, LA area and the Red Stick Farmers Market is our shopping experience. Our purchases from a typical farmers market makes up the majority of our weekly groceries.
Grab your basket and let’s go shopping!
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: le piment doux (lu pee-mon doo) – Sweet Pepper
T
his morning was one of those mornings where the time got away from us and still no breakfast – so began “Simple Combinations”. We will take 2 or 3 ingredients and make a quick, healthy, pleasing meal. Meals are meant to be enjoyed with family and friends even with our hectic schedules. So this morning we grabbed eggs and a variety of peppers from the refrigerator and began.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: le pain (lu pain) – bread
Breakfast seems to be the meal that can be the most rushed. Simple, easy to prepare dishes are preferred and often contain leftovers. Last night we made “Grandma’s Potato Croquettes” (see prior post) updating the recipe using Salmon and Sweet Potatoes — based on one from John’s grandmother where she used white potatoes and fish flakes. The recipe makes about 12 patties so we had plenty left over.
This morning we decided to build a breakfast tower using the croquettes along with all fresh items from the Redstick Farmers Market (except the grapes and bananas) and it was great! Not only is it easy to prepare and assemble, it makes an elegant presentation. Grandma would be proud.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: la patate douce (la pa-tat doos) – Sweet Potato
Many years ago John‘s grandmother owned a General Store across from the school in Port Allen, LA. This was before school cafeterias and Francis would make hamburgers at lunch for the students. Since most of the students were Cajun Catholics, on Fridays she would make Potato Croquettes using fish flakes. Francis, the below recipe is in your honor, we hope we make you proud. The below recipe has been updated using sweet potatoes and salmon.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: la tomate (la tō-mat) — Tomato
HOT!
It’s summer, it’s New Orleans, it’s HOT!
Hot describes the last few weeks in south Louisiana. Okay so it is nothing out of the ordinary, it is still HOT! Some people may believe Southerns stay in the air conditioning and sip mint juleps – not so. We go out in the heat, dance, eat and enjoy festivals. The weekend of June 11th was the Vieux To Do Festival in New Orleans. Vieux To Do is three festivals in one – Cajun/Zydeco Music, Creole Tomato, and Seafood.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
