Cajun Food Where You Find It
Cajun French: le poulet farci (lu poo-lā far-see) – baked chicken
There are numerous, too many to count, of chicken pasta salad recipes. Why another one? We saw the basics of this recipe on Facebook and decided to make it our own. We gave ours a Mediterranean flair with a kick of Cajun and wow, it worked!
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: faim (fain) – hungry
Leaving church Sunday, as usual John was lobbying for donuts. Laurie was shaking her head fervently as we walked to the truck. The truck just so happened to be parked near Joie de Vivre Coffee & Culture Café with an outdoor sign of “What’s Cooking!” Laurie’s eyes veered to the sign and gazed upon Crawfish Flatbread. John was easily convinced and in we went to try the beckoning flavors. Continue reading “Joie de Vivre Coffee and Culture Café Revisited”
Cajun French: la céleri (la sel-ree) – celery
Calorie overload during Mardi Gras – yes that was us. So, we were ready for some down home cooking. What better than Shrimp Etouffee – simple, easy, good Cajun cooking. We even made it easier by using dry roux. That is not always our method, but Mardi Gras wore us out; we needed easy.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: pétrir (pā-treer) – knead
Cajuns are an adaptable people. We take what the area offers and make it our own. So we wonder why it took not only a non-Cajun, but also a non-native Louisianan to develop the Boudin King Cake. Granted Dr. Boudin (Bob Carriker) has been living in the Lafayette area since 1997; he is not native. He calls Louisiana home and has come to embrace our culture and food. In honor of Dr. Boudin and his Boudin King Cake, we have made our own, adapting it to our tastes.
One bread recipe will make a very large king cake. We made ours in our Dutch oven so we adjusted for the size of our pot.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Let’s Eat Cake – Boudin King Cake”
Cajun French: le plat (lu pla) – dish (of food)
When squash and eggplant appear at the markets, Laurie cannot resist. Living in an RV, space is at a premium and fresh produce is purchased as needed. That is except squash and eggplant – usually we purchase more than needed because there are so many different ones to choose. This week we managed to only purchase yellow squash and eggplant. Laurie was proud of herself for moderation. Grilling is a favorite cooking method of ours and tonight was grilled veggies. For a different approach we stacked the veggies and topped with grated cheese. Fresh corn was also a purchase so it was grilled also.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: la saucisse (la sō-sees) – sausage
Sometimes when we are searching and visiting areas things aren’t as we hope. Our Saturday of surprises was beginning to look that way. Our Rice Palace breakfast was fantastic and we figured the entire day would be that way. Not necessarily so, until… Continue reading “Day of Surprises Part II – Boudin”
Cajun French: la chaudière (la shō-dee-air) – cooking pot
Saturday weather was not getting any better as we headed north to Elton, LA. It was still cold, windy, and dreary – not the type of day to head out to a festival, but we were on our way. Continue reading “Coushatta Farmers Market, Elton, LA”
Cajun French: la patate (la pa-tat) – potato
Ms. Francis’ store was across the street from the local school. Since this was before the time of school lunches, she would sell hamburgers to the school children for lunch. On Friday’s, since this was a predominantly Cajun Catholic community, she would make potato patties instead of meat patties. Both of her burgers are still talked about and remembered by people today. Francis was John’s grandmother and while this is not her exact recipe, we wanted to honor her memory and the memories she left with us. Frances would use fish flakes and boiled potatoes to make her patties. We stepped it up a notch and used salmon and potato flakes.
Frances has been the inspiration for many of our dishes. In fact, we posted a potato croquette recipe a couple of years ago based on her recipe. At that time we used sweet potatoes. This one is closer to her original recipe.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le “truck” (lu “truck”) – truck
Saturdays usually mean shopping at a farmers market and breakfast out. This has become a tradition of ours no matter where we may be located. This Saturday we were in Breaux Bridge, LA and knew the Lafayette markets well, having shopped them many times. There are three farmers markets in Lafayette which is interesting for a city of its size and the markets are close together. Continue reading “Day of Surprises – Truck Stop Eating”
Cajun French: le goût (lu goo) – taste
Joie de Vivre – the joy of living or in this case the joy of coffee.
We have been to Joie de Vivre many times over the last few years. The enjoyment of coffee and pastries to dancing on a Thursday night have made many memorable occasions. Continue reading “Joie de Vivre Coffee and Culture Café – Breaux Bridge, LA”
