Cajun Food Where You Find It
Cajun French: goûtailler (goot-a-ee-ā) – snack
Having a pot of cooked Pinto Beans means thinking of creative ways to use the beans. We try to have some type of healthy snack in the afternoon so the mind went to work. We had pita bread, guacamole, goat cheese, tomatoes and green olives – now what to do with them. We thought about mini pizzas, yet they would be too hard to eat without utensils. Okay, same concept just cut the pita bread in quarters and single layer.
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 jardinage (lu jar-deen-aj) – vegetables
Having grilled shrimp and sweet potato fingerlings left over, our creativity kicked in for breakfast. Individual grilled shrimp omelets adding mushrooms, peppers, garlic, and onions sounded good. Out came the Griddler and we started chopping.
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”
Friends accuse us of planning our travels around Farmers Markets and they are correct. As we have said before, we are addicted to Farmers Markets. Most of our weekly groceries are purchased at Farmers Markets and we enjoy the variety and freshness that the markets offer. No market is too small for us to visit because we always find something interesting. Continue reading “Junction City, KS Farmers Market”
Fall means college football and nowhere is a better example than South Louisiana where there is a sea of purple and gold on any given Saturday. Being in North Platte, NE for the first Saturday football game night in Tiger Stadium, we wore our purple and gold. Having lived in Omaha, NE a very long time ago, we know how important football is to NE; almost as important as it is in South Louisiana. Continue reading “North Platte, NE Farmers Market”
The morning dawned cool; perfect for a farmers market in South Dakota. As most of you realize, we are addicted to farmers markets. If we are in an area with a farmers market we will be there when the market opens. So off to downtown Custer we went to shop the Custer Farmers Market. Continue reading “Custer, SD Farmers Market”
Our third farmers market in three days was in the Highland area of Denver, Colorado. It is a neighborhood farmers market featuring farm goods, prepared foods and crafts. Our nephew, Matthew Erley, lives in the Highland neighborhood and was anxious to show us their market.
After our two week void of farmers markets we are making up for lost markets. Longmont Farmers Market is our second farmers market in three days. Since we are staying at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont and that is where the farmers market is, it was an easy and pleasant walk to the market on Saturday morning.
The Boulder Farmers Market is a community gathering place offering not only fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy and other items yet also offering prepared foods and a grassy lawn to enjoy those foods while visiting. There was even a Balloon Man forming balloons into various objects for the children to wear and enjoy. After two weeks of no farmers market we were in Farmer Market Heaven!
