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Chaduke

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    http://www.doresoftware.com

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    Lafayette, LA
  1. Nice suggestions Celeste. I need to get my raised beds in shape so I can start moving stuff outside, I especially like the 2-liter bottle idea. I've been looking for ways to organize all the seedlings I'll have growing, I have tons of seeds I want to try out and at the very least learn from. I came across this product yesterday and I think I'm going to give it a try: http://www.burpee.com/product/holiday+gift...Arrivals&page=1 I could probably arrange a bunch of those little pots into trays. When spring comes and I have to harden off the indoor plants I'm worried that I'm going to be spending a lot of time moving them in and out. Shellfishfiend: I know how you feel about the spring coming, I'm excited about it myself. I wasn't sure how well stuff would grow indoors but I decided to try anyway. I'm pretty impressed by everything I have sitting on the south window, they all seem very healthy. I also started using a method of germinating the seeds in a damp paper towel. This way I've never had to re-plant anything that failed to sprout.
  2. Chaduke

    About roux

    Wow, I've never heard that one before. I've always found cornstarch to be great as a thickener as long as you mix it in cold water first. You also can use a lot less of it than flour which decreases the likelihood of it adding unwanted flavor. Of course I can't understand why someone would put it in crawfish etouffee, that doesn't make sense to me at all. I mostly use it when I make rice and gravy from green (fresh) sausage or a chaudin, where the gravy is often thin. It's very commonly used in Chinese hot and sour soup as well.
  3. I didn't get around to planting last year but this year I'm all fired up and ready. I've got a lot of different seedlings and small plants growing in pots on the windows (tomato and okra mostly) and some stuff like radishes, potatoes and spinach and garlic growing outside. I've got about 100 green onion tops in the backyard that I planted at different times after making gumbo, they seem to grow well in the worst possible conditions. Its funny that you mention a cat is a good tomato protector outside because they're an absolute menace to my indoor seedlings. Two times the door was left open accidentally and they knocked over the pots or just ripped the seedlings out of the dirt. They seem to be strangely attracted to them. I'm also going to give mushroom growing a shot. There's a whole bunch of edible types I want to try out that I couldn't find anywhere near here, but the spores can be ordered online and grown in storage containers in the house.
  4. I would recommend the "The Best Stop" just north at the Scott / Cankton exit (highway 93). They have great boudin, cracklin, jerky, as well many refrigerated items, all excellent. Their containers of seasoning are great.
  5. Prasantrin : yes, after removing the meat I was left with about 1/2 pound. Vinonola and HungryC : I'm very aware of the local crawfish in my area, but my idea was to do lobster. A friend, also a cook, raves about lobster all the time and I haven't really had a lot of experience with it. I also have had a few bad experiences with Albertson's seafood, but the main reason I went is because they were live and they steam them for you in 10 minutes. I really don't see it as a mistake because the lobster meat was very good, much better tasting than crawfish in my opinion, but still not worth the money. My main goal was to satisfy my curiosity. TAPrice : I may do it again for a special occasion, especially if I could find a source of live lobster for significantly less than what I paid. CaliPoutine : I thought the meat tasted great, much better than the "Maine" lobster I've had in restaurants. Personally I would suspect the fact that yours was frozen had something to do with it.
  6. I can definitely see where you're coming from, I was sort of thinking that the cucumber and green onion had a strong taste when I was eating it. I didn't really detect the taragon. If I ever do it again I may cut way back on the cucumber and green onion, and possibly try a different mayo. Blue Plate is my favorite consumer brand but I've had some Japanese mayo that was really good. I may also want to try a different bread.
  7. Today I decided to try something new, I've only had lobster two or three times in my life and was not that impressed. A friend told me the "Maine Lobster Roll" was one of his favorite things to eat, so I decided to make my own. I went out to Albertson's and had them steam two of them with Tony Chachere's seasoning. They were a little over a pound each and the both of them cost 36 dollars at 15 per pound. Very pricy, I shook my head but smiled when I finished extracting the meat and saw how little was in the bowl. I noticed on the rubber bands that held the claws the words "Wild" and "Canada". I found it very easy to peel, almost exactly like a large crawfish. I used a heavy knife to crack the claws. The standard Maine Lobster Roll recipe calls for diced cucumber, green onion and fresh taragon, mayo (I used blue plate) salt (didn't really require it) and cracked pepper. This is placed on a sort of hot dog bun that you toast in a skillet with butter, but I decided to use french bread. I thought I would share with you guys my not so great pictures of a 20 dollar po-boy. I have to say it was very good, a bit better than the taste of crawfish but not that dissimilar. The salad recipe had a nice flavor and I'd like to experiment but at that price it probably wont happen. http://www.doresoftware.com/misc/photos/Lobster1.jpg http://www.doresoftware.com/misc/photos/Lobster2.jpg http://www.doresoftware.com/misc/photos/Lobster3.jpg http://www.doresoftware.com/misc/photos/Lobster4.jpg
  8. Great advice, I'll be sure to follow all your leads.
  9. I've been wanting to do this for a long time now and I finally have the means to do so. I live in the Carencro area (near Lafayette). I'm looking for suggestions, tips, basically whatever information you guys have about growing your own fruits, vegetables and herbs. The things I'm most interested in are 1) ingredients that much better homegrown than storebought (I notice this in tomatoes especially) 2) ingredients that are fairly easy to grow and don't require large amounts of time to maintain 3) what grows well in my area and what doesn't, or what requires special treatment 4) what seeds / soil to buy, where to buy, planting instructions, when to plant / transplant, indoor / outdoor considerations (I have a large fenced in backyard and also a small shed with windows) Hopefully this info can be useful to other people in Louisiana who want to plant this Spring. Thanks in advance.
  10. Much respect for what you guys are doing. I've been to the boudin link page in the past for reference in preparation for a 'boudin run' I did with friends. I've been to about 75% of the places you have listed and agree with them for the most part. I live in Carencro almost perfectly positioned between Don's on the I-49 service road and the Best Stop, about 5 minutes from either one. I also work in Opelousas (my home town) and pick up some Billy's when I'm there. I always give places a second or third chance and noticed with many of them the boudin (and especially cracklins) tend to be very good in the morning, whereas on the afternoon I've gotten mixed results. Seems logical but also says something about the kind of operation they run. I suppose some of these places can't really afford to throw away an entire batch if it doesn't taste exactly right. Sometimes people have brought boudin to party and when I find out where they got it I have to ask "are you sure?" Looking forward to ya'll future projects.
  11. Yeah, I was looking at a group of different pictures earlier and didn't think that was it but now that I've seen some cut up and cooked I'm thinking its a fairly strong possiblity. The pictures I found seem to vary quite a bit but this one looks pretty close in terms of texture: Image Link However, this looks like what we had but chopped up a bit more. What I saw looked like a base with a bunch of stems coming from it. I suppose if you cut it a certain way it could look like that. I'm hoping we get a Whole Foods in Lafayette soon. We have a few nice produce stores where you can some good stuff and then many butcher shops for meat, but its difficult to find the more rare items, especially fresh. Albertson's has about the widest array of items not found anywhere else, but it's still nothing compared to other places I've been like Rouse's in Houma.
  12. I went to Cafe Degas on Esplanade in New Orleans for Sunday brunch. My experience was quite pleasant, especially considering I was drinking nonstop from about noon on Saturday until about 4:00 am on Sunday. The atmosphere, service, and all the dishes I tasted were wonderful, I'm still thinking about that french onion soup with the cheese bread melted on top. Anyways, my brother's girlfriend got the crab, asparagus, and wild mushroom crepes. As she was working on it she pulled out this really odd looking mushroom that resembled a small octopus. It looked almost like the bottom part of a plant where many flowers grow out of the same base and the stems twist upwards. There were no caps on it as far as I could tell. She was afraid to eat it so I tried it out and it was probably the best tasting mushroom I ever had. I'm sure the sautee has a lot to do with it but now I'm curious about what type of mushroom it was. I should have gone back and asked but I forgot. If anyone has an idea or has eaten them there and can give me some insight I'd appreciate it.
  13. The wine cellar is Marcello's right? But it's not exactly on south College, it's kinda at the intersection where Johnston crosses over. Across the street from there is South Side bakery which is fairly new. They have great burgers (including shrimp and crawfish) on homemade buns and the sweet stuff looks excellent but I haven't tried any of it. It's worth checking out. You'll find the area around Dwyer's to very different if you haven't been here in a while. Lots and lots of bars and new businesses in that area now. You can go into Dwyer's in the late evening and order a drink from their bar. I'm pretty sure that's new. Olde Tyme is still very good, I go there about twice a month. One of my new local favorites is Lauras II on University right next to Julian's Po-boys. If you like really good soul food (rice and gravy, blackeyes, smothered chicken and pork chops) check them out during lunch time 7 days a week. My absolute favorite is the stuffed turkey wing on Saturday and Sundays. Right up the road from there you can find Country Cuisine which is similar food but I always get their awesome shrimp stew on Fridays at luchtime. If you like BBQ you may enjoy Dwight's on Johnston street for Sunday lunch. Although its a part of a small chain, an excellent new place just opened up this week called Bonefish Grill. It's next to the new upper class neighborhood River Ranch on Kaliste Saloom. If you like fish prepared pretty much any kind of way (including raw or seared) I highly recommend it. I had the Swordfish and it was excellent. Crab cakes were the best I've ever had and the seared tuna was wonderful. Tonight I'm heading to Guidry's Reef on Pinhook. I haven't been in many years but people have been telling me lately how good it is. I'll let you know how it goes. I agree with Patti, Pimon Thai is really good and luckily because I'm pretty sure its our only Thai place. My favorite there is Beef with Oyster sauce. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. How long are you planning to stay?
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