207 replies to this topic

[heidih]

I love the creamy flavorful liquid in the beans. That was a great simple explanation of cooking rice on the stove top. So many folks seem to hit a wall with plain cooked rice. When I first learned to cook something other than Uncle Ben's Converted I was introduced to Mahatma by a Panamanian fellow who spent time in the South and swore by it.

[PopsicleToze]

SWAMP PEOPLE

Now, we need to go back and finish our field trip from yesterday. We left off after I left the strawberry farm. We were in Ponchatoula -- and that is right next door to Hammond.

Are you familiar with Swamp People? It's a series on the History Channel and it documents several families of alligator hunters in South Louisiana. Click here for more info.

When it first came out, I thought, "Wow. We need that like we need a hole in the head. Just more stereotypical profiles about Louisiana." However, then I started watching it. What makes this show so special is that they're not stereotyping these people. It's the real deal; this is what these people do, and I love the series. Now, not all of us hunt alligators, and not all of us have extreme accents, but these people do, and they do it well. If you haven't watched it, the new series begins March 31st.

Why did I tell you all of that? Because one of the families lives in Hammond, Louisiana, and that's right next door. I didn't know where it was or even remember the name of it, but Hammond is a small place and I figured that I would find it. It's an alligator and turtle farm, and I wanted some turtle meat to make you some soup. It's my favorite ever!



The place is called Kliebert's, and it's just off I-55. When I arrived, I met T-Mike; he's on the show. He's the son of one of the hunters. (T-Mike is short for Little Mike or Mike, Jr. In Cajun culture, they just put a T in front of the name.) Anyway, he was very nice, but I found out they don't sell turtle meat. The turtles they have are alligator snapping turtles, and they are on the endangered list. Most of the turtle soup today uses the common snapping turtle. You can tell the difference between the turtles by their shell. The common snapping turtle has a smooth shell, and the alligator snapping turtle has jagged points on it.





I was a little disappointed and but he was kind enough to take me on a little tour. The largest alligator on the farm is 19-feet. The large alligators were hatched from eggs by his grandfather. They are 54 years old this year.

















The place has a funky smell, and I asked him what they fed the alligators. T-Mike drives to Henderson (that's in Cajun Country) weekly and buys fish heads and parts for feed. So, you can just imagine fish heads and guts rotting in the ponds not far from where we were walking!

I asked T-Mike if he was familiar with Lloyd's Smokehouse. He wasn't and said that he buys his andouille at Jacob's in LaPlace (sound familiar? Lol). He asked me if it was good, and I told him that I hadn't eaten it yet, but it sure smelled good. Then I remembered that it was in the car, so I told him that I would get him a piece and be right back. I forgot the stuff was frozen, so I just broke off a link and wrapped it in a napkin and brought it to him. He was so thankful that he insisted on giving me a package of their alligator sausage! (I haven't tried it yet; I'll let you know.)

Anyway, enjoy the pictures, and T-Mike told me to tell you hello. We won't be having turtle soup this week, however, but he was a very nice guy and I'm glad I stopped by.

[PopsicleToze]

I love the creamy flavorful liquid in the beans. That was a great simple explanation of cooking rice on the stove top. So many folks seem to hit a wall with plain cooked rice. When I first learned to cook something other than Uncle Ben's Converted I was introduced to Mahatma by a Panamanian fellow who spent time in the South and swore by it.

Thanks, Heidi. I used Uncle Ben's rice for years, too.

Rhonda

[kayb]

Oh, Lord. Just take me now. I LOVE me some red beans and rice, and never thought about using ham stock to flavor the beans and adding the Andouille at the last minute. (I get mine at a restaurant in Little Rock where they make their own; guy used to be the chef at NOLA, pre-Katrina. Pricy. Worth it.)

[tim]

Dear Rhonda,

This has been a wonderful hug for me but, I'd rather have a real one. I may just have a sip of Zaya this evening to bring back memories.

You really bring Louisiana alive with your writing. Thank you for sharing. Wish you had been here last week--we had your gumbo! Tim

Rhonda--Just got home from a very long day at work sitting in front of a computer. The last thing I wanted to do was sit down in front of our computer. But Tim insisted and I am so glad I did. What a treasure you are writing. When you mentioned the other day you were working on something, I had no idea it would be so wonderful and so full of love. What a gift you are giving both your mother and more importantly your father. We will keep you close to our hearts.

Lib and Tim

[PopsicleToze]

What a beautiful presentation. *drooling*

Thank you, Miss Shelby!

[PopsicleToze]

Oh, Lord. Just take me now. I LOVE me some red beans and rice, and never thought about using ham stock to flavor the beans and adding the Andouille at the last minute. (I get mine at a restaurant in Little Rock where they make their own; guy used to be the chef at NOLA, pre-Katrina. Pricy. Worth it.)

Oh, Kay! I'm so glad you liked them.

Rhonda

[PopsicleToze]

Dear Rhonda,

This has been a wonderful hug for me but, I'd rather have a real one. I may just have a sip of Zaya this evening to bring back memories.

You really bring Louisiana alive with your writing. Thank you for sharing. Wish you had been here last week--we had your gumbo! Tim

Rhonda--Just got home from a very long day at work sitting in front of a computer. The last thing I wanted to do was sit down in front of our computer. But Tim insisted and I am so glad I did. What a treasure you are writing. When you mentioned the other day you were working on something, I had no idea it would be so wonderful and so full of love. What a gift you are giving both your mother and more importantly your father. We will keep you close to our hearts.

Lib and Tim

Awwww, and now you two have gone and done it and made tears well up in my eyes! I miss you guys, too, and am sending hugs over to you right now! You're always in my heart and mind. Hope to see you soon!

XOXO
Rhonda

[PopsicleToze]

P.S. Tim, go ahead and have the Zaya. I just emailed Ben and told him to pour himself a glass of rum tonight, too. That way y'all can have a toast!

[PopsicleToze]

TURTLE SOUP

Now, we've already established that I won't be cooking turtle soup this week, so I can scratch that off the list. You can buy turtle meat around New Orleans, but I haven't found any around here, and driving to New Orleans during this blog is out of the question. However, I can at least show it to you.



New Orleans turtle soup is as unique as gumbo to the culture. If you go to Cajun Country, the turtle soup is, well, soupy with large chunks of turtle meat -- kindof like a beef stew sans the vegetables and not as thick. Don't get me wrong -- it's good stuff, and I like it. But in New Orleans, the soup is thick and is almost a stew. It is traditional to serve turtle soup with sherry at the table. When the waiter brings your dish to you, there will be a little cup of sherry that you add to the soup at the last minute. It's good stuff!

Rhonda

[PopsicleToze]

The last of the field trip -- fried catfish.

After we left Kliebert's, Daddy was hungry, and this place was right down the street. It has good catfish. The other food is alright, but it's not a great place. However, Daddy wanted fried catfish, and this place was convenient, so we stopped.



The special of the day was catfish (who knew?) with gumbo on the side. Daddy doesn't eat too much these days, and I knew I wasn't going to like anything there too much anyway, so we just had one plate of the daily special. He ate the catfish, and I had the gumbo. Was the gumbo any good? No, not too much. It tasted like they made it with dried shrimp and then added some boiled shrimp to it when it was time to serve.









When I walked outside to the deck, there were a whole lot of turtles sunning, and I was able to take this picture. It's very hard to get pictures of turtles sunning because as as soon as they hear someone coming, all you can hear is PLOP PLOP PLOP and they jump in the water. However, this was taken from behind a glass window so the turtles didn't hear me.



Then, when I opened the door a duck was there to greet me.






And that concludes the field trip!
Rhonda


[edited for typo - oops]

Edited by PopsicleToze, 22 March 2011 - 04:43 PM.

[SobaAddict70]

This Foodblog is awesome.

[PopsicleToze]

And now onto today's dessert. I tried to think of what would be a typical dessert for us when we were growing up. We didn't have dessert much; it was more of a special occasion when desserts were served. I don't eat too much dessert even now. Most of the time after dinner, a cup of coffee is served.

However, one of my favorite desserts is watermelon! I don't know if you know it or not, but it gets hot down here. Watermelon is just the thing to cool you down. It's always eaten outside sprinkled with just a little bit of salt.



Does anyone remember Nathalie Dupree? She used to have a cooking show years ago. She messed up all of the time. Seriously -- every single episode. It was so funny. Every time she would mess up, she would say, "Well, if we lived in a perfect world," or "In a perfect world, this wouldn't happen," etc.

Well, in a perfect world, if we wanted to eat watermelon, this would be July and that watermelon would be from Washington parish. They have *the* best watermelons in the world.

This little watermelon? Ahhh -- it's alright. It's from Mexico, and it doesn't have a lot of flavor. I knew not to buy it, but I thought it would be alright. It would be an example of a traditional dessert we had, PLUS I wanted to make you watermelon rind pickles. Then, I just opened it this afternoon, and the rind is so small that it's not worth fooling with. (Scratch that off the list.)



I do like canning, and both of my grandmothers canned. Mom? Not so much. Bread and Butter pickles are one of our favorites, and the one time she canned them, she peeled the cucumbers. Anyway, I learned how to do it from my grandmother. Here is a batch of last year's bread and butter pickles.



Also, fig preserves are big around these parts. It's not fig season right now, but I kept some pictures of some I made last season. The thing about picking figs is that you have to get up early in the morning and get to them before the bluebirds get them!

[janeer]

Well, I had a client in Lafayette in the 1980s and used to fly back to Boston from my visits with big brown paper bags of fresh crawfish, shrimp, rattlesnake, and tortoise bought on the side of the road, so I will definitely be following this blog to learn more.

I am so glad you're here! I'm going to try and cook a few things for you. Things bought off the backside of a pick-up truck are awesome! I'll see if I can get a picture for you. They're usually there just on the weekends, but you never know...

Rhonda

You are already reminding me of those days--the turtle soup! And I must say, we don't "farms" like yours where I come from. I don't think I realized that alligators were specifically raised for food. Your photos, not just your food, are really good: the one of the clothes on the fence is wonderful, as is the face on that little girl, and the watermelon...gorgeous.

[PopsicleToze]

This Foodblog is awesome.

Soba, thank you for that wonderful compliment! I'm happy that you like it.

Rhonda

[PopsicleToze]

Your photos, not just your food, are really good: the one of the clothes on the fence is wonderful, as is the face on that little girl, and the watermelon...gorgeous.

Well, I hate to break it to you -- but the two specific photos you mentioned just happen to be two photos from the Louisiana Dept of Tourism. Don't worry; I do have their permission to use them for this blog. They work hard to promote Louisiana; tourism is a big industry here.

Rhonda

[LindaK]

Just when I thought I couldn't get any more jealous of folks who live in warm weather climates--then I see all those figs. Wow. Where do you pick them? Did I miss a tour of your fig trees?

[llc45]

TURTLE SOUP

Now, we've already established that I won't be cooking turtle soup this week, so I can scratch that off the list. You can buy turtle meat around New Orleans, but I haven't found any around here, and driving to New Orleans during this blog is out of the question. However, I can at least show it to you.



New Orleans turtle soup is as unique as gumbo to the culture. If you go to Cajun Country, the turtle soup is, well, soupy with large chunks of turtle meat -- kindof like a beef stew sans the vegetables and not as thick. Don't get me wrong -- it's good stuff, and I like it. But in New Orleans, the soup is thick and is almost a stew. It is traditional to serve turtle soup with sherry at the table. When the waiter brings your dish to you, there will be a little cup of sherry that you add to the soup at the last minute. It's good stuff!

Rhonda

Wow - I can't wait to show this to my Dad when he comes to visit this weekend. He made turtle soup all of the time when I was growing up. He would find a turtle on his long commute home from work and put it in a garbage can for a day or two and feed it corn to clean it out (from what I remember). The soup did not look anything like this. I never ate his but I sure would like to try this version!

[PopsicleToze]

Just when I thought I couldn't get any more jealous of folks who live in warm weather climates--then I see all those figs. Wow. Where do you pick them? Did I miss a tour of your fig trees?

No, there was no tour of the fig trees. My Aunt Toni has huge fig trees in her backyard, and I go there to pick them. I only have one little fig tree. The poor thing was struck by lightening and almost died. He's real little, but he's a fighter. I maybe got 24 figs from it last year.



Rhonda

[kayb]

If you are not now, or have not at some time made your living from writing, you have missed your calling. You're a wonderful storyteller.

[PopsicleToze]

When I was preparing for this blog, I decided to make some pickled eggs. You can still find them in grocery stores around here, and pickled quail eggs can be found at just about every farmers market.

The first time I heard of them was in jr high school when we had to read the Diary of Anne Frank. On one of the pages the story told how Anne's mother knew hard times were coming, so she pickled two huge jars of eggs to make sure they had food. Later, when their house was searched, the eggs were taken from them. I can't tell you how much that broke my heart just imagining what she went through, and I think about her every time I make them.

If you go to New Orleans, you might want to stop by the D-Day Museum, or click here for more information on it.

I use the recipe from the Prudhomme Family Cookbook.

















Now, we're making another jar because someone told me that you could use canned beets and they would taste the same. I knew they wouldn't be the same, but what the heck? I went ahead and bought a can just to experiment.



Look at the difference between the jars, and the color of the ones made with real beets was even more vibrant after a few days.





The only place around here who serves eggs like this is Fleur de Lis Pizza, and if you go there, you had better like pizza and/or pickled eggs, because that's the only things they have! If you want a salad, eat one before you leave home. I think we're going there to eat tomorrow night. I'll post some pictures.

How long do you let them sit until they are ready to eat? Prudhomme says the aging period is 3 weeks. The guy at the pizza place says he sticks them in the cooler for 2 weeks before eating them. Me? I start eating them the day after they're made.

Rhonda

[6ppc]

Enjoying this blog immensely Rhonda.

[PopsicleToze]

If you are not now, or have not at some time made your living from writing, you have missed your calling. You're a wonderful storyteller.

Thank you! I do love to write, but it's easy if you love the subject matter.

[PopsicleToze]

Enjoying this blog immensely Rhonda.

Thank you, Jon. It's a lot of fun!

[Kent Wang]

You are already reminding me of those days--the turtle soup! And I must say, we don't "farms" like yours where I come from. I don't think I realized that alligators were specifically raised for food. Your photos, not just your food, are really good: the one of the clothes on the fence is wonderful, as is the face on that little girl, and the watermelon...gorgeous.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think gators are primarily raised for their hides, which are more valuable than their meat. What did T-Mike say about this?

[PopsicleToze]

You are already reminding me of those days--the turtle soup! And I must say, we don't "farms" like yours where I come from. I don't think I realized that alligators were specifically raised for food. Your photos, not just your food, are really good: the one of the clothes on the fence is wonderful, as is the face on that little girl, and the watermelon...gorgeous.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think gators are primarily raised for their hides, which are more valuable than their meat.

You are correct. On one of the shows a representative from an Italian design house went on one of the hunts. When he told the hunters that an alligator hide jacket from his company would retail about $25K, you should have seen the look on the hunters' faces!

[Dejah]

Just catching up with your blog, PopsicleToze.

I was very interested in reading about your cookbook venture. My daughter "stole" some of my recipes and food pictures and had a cookbook printed up for me this Xmas past. It's a thin volume but is giving me the nudge to start compiling family recipes, anedotes, etc.
Thank you for sharing your venture. It'll be very helpful for my "second printing".

[Pierogi]

Rhonda, I'm lovin' this ! Those red beans and rice are right in my wheelhouse ("Pops" too !).

Is the Prudhomme Family book available at stores in your area? I've been looking for it, since I love his "Louisianna Kitchen" so much, but it's out of print. I'd love to lay my hands on a copy.

[PopsicleToze]

Just catching up with your blog, PopsicleToze.

I was very interested in reading about your cookbook venture. My daughter "stole" some of my recipes and food pictures and had a cookbook printed up for me this Xmas past. It's a thin volume but is giving me the nudge to start compiling family recipes, anedotes, etc.
Thank you for sharing your venture. It'll be very helpful for my "second printing".

Yeah, but I don't want to bore everyone with it who doesn't want it. After this blog is over, I'll email you information.

[PopsicleToze]

Is the Prudhomme Family book available at stores in your area? I've been looking for it, since I love his "Louisianna Kitchen" so much, but it's out of print. I'd love to lay my hands on a copy.

Good morning, Roberta! No, it's not available, but I find a lot of out of print old cookbooks at garage sales, used book stores, etc.

Rhonda