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

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!

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

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

Thank you, Miss Shelby!

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

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.

Now, it's time to eat. While you weren't looking, and after the beans were softened a little bit, I corrected the seasoning. Then, I added some hot sauce and some Worcestershire sauce. About 30 minutes before they were finished, I added sausage rounds and ham. You have to remember that we started off this pot of beans in a very good ham bone stock. These beans were cooked in that good smoked pork flavor. I don't want all of the flavor to cook out of the meat, because the meat has to be flavorful, too. Now, if you started the beans with water, then you're going to have to depend on your meat seasoning to flavor the pot, and you will have to cook the meat much longer than I did. Here the meat is more of a complement to the beans than a seasoning meat. I had to cook some rice. I use Mahatma jasmine rice most of the time, and that's what we used today. Start 1-1/2 cups of water with about a teaspoon of salt. Add 1 cup rice. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer and cover the pot. Set timer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat; set timer for 5 minutes. Do not uncover pot. Fluff rice with a fork. Mound of rice waiting for beans. Red Beans & Ricely yours, Rhonda

LLC, thank you! Jacobs mail-orders, but you can always build a smokehouse and make it yourself. I keep saying I'm going to do that, but it hasn't happened yet! Rhonda

DARCIE!!! I am soooo glad you dropped by!!! Been missing you, and I remember reading your blog, "Baking with Bacon." Wish you could bake with me this week. The only thing I have planned is maybe making a fig cake with the last of last year's fig preserves. Good to know you're here! Rhonda

Thank you! That is such a kind thing to say. You have just officially made my day! Thanks! Rhonda

Shelby, I think that's wisteria. Isn't it beautiful? Rhonda

P.S. The casing is tough. Peel it off before you use it.

So what is? Are we gonna get a chance to see Jacob's stuff? Here is Jacob's andouille: According to them: Andouille: (AWN-DOO-EE) Our signature product, is a type of smoked sausage in which choice lean pork is cubed rather than ground, seasoned with a little more salt, red pepper, black pepper and garlic, then stuffed into a larger beef casing. It is then allowed to hang in the cooler over night to cure, then it is heavily smoked over aged pecan wood for a unique tasting, fully cooked sausage. It is excellent to use for seasoning gumbos, jambalayas, beans, and many other dishes. It's good stuff. Rhonda

Okay, I have to go stay with Daddy now because Mom has a hair appointment. "How are the beans doing," you ask... they are just fine and dandy. I just corrected the seasoning and turned off the heat. Typically, I would add the meat now so it cooks just at the end of the dish and doesn't become rubbery, but I can't do that now because I have to go. When I come back, we will add the meat, cook the rice, and (FINALLY) have dinner. Rhonda

Celeste -- it's about time you got here, woman! I really need some help. I know it's *my* blog, but you know more about food and cooking in this country than I will ever know. I am asking you *please* whenever you can see something that you could add some additional insight, go right ahead and do it. It would make for a much better informational blog, and everyone would benefit from it. And for those among you who are not familiar with Celeste, take a look at her site: Click Here Between the both of us, we might pull this off Rhonda

Sure! Andouille is the famous Cajun smoked sauage of Louisiana. It's made with pork butt, shank and a small amount of pork fat. How do I describe it to you? Well, it's actually very lean and there is not a lot of fat to it. Think of it as a ham stuffed into a sausage casing. I use it when I want full flavor, but not a lot of fat. For instance, chicken and andouille sausage is my favorite gumbo. I wouldn't put ordinary sausage into it, because it is too fat. However, when I make jambalaya (I make the brown Cajun type), then I need some fat to keep things moist, so I use regular sausage -- not andouille. Here is a picture of Mr. Lloyd's andouille: And I am very sorry to say that this is not andouille. It's a good pork sausage, for sure, but it's not andouille. Andouille is thicker and when it is smoked, it becomes very dark in color. More importantly, this has wayyyyy too much fat to be andouille. I buy my andouille at Jacob's in LaPlace. Until further notice, that's where I'll still buy it. However, I'll still stop off at Lloyd's place and buy his sausage, bacon, and things. He really does do a great job, but that is not andouille. Rhonda

FESTIVALS I guess you've heard that we celebrate here, and we do with over 400 annual festivals celebrating everything from the abundance of seafood, fruits, vegetables, etc. to pine trees! Their reason for being was a time for the community to come together maybe just to uplift each other after a hard winter or maybe it was to share in a necessary task that had to be done in order to ensure their future survival. For example, in the fall when people were putting up meat for the winter, The Boucherie, it was a time for family and neighbors to assist one another in the tremendous task of butchering and processing pigs/calves. (To read more about The Boucherie, click here: http://cajuncountry.org/boucherie/ ) Today, the most popular festivals in Louisiana are centered around food. To name just a few: we have the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, the Jambalaya Festival in Gonzales, the Cochon de Lait Festival in Mansur, the Creole Tomato Festival in New Orleans, the Frog Festival in Rayne (yes, we eat frog legs), the Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula, and I can go on and on. Well, what did my forefathers bring to the table, you ask... pine trees! Yes, friends, Walker is home to the official Louisiana Pine Tree Festival. Children enjoy watermelon at the Watermelon Festival in Ruston, Louisiana

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 absolutely correct! And it was the Diana Krall version that I loved so much. Plus -- there's more! My Aunt Bobbie's real name IS Roberta! You absolutely have to come here and visit. I know where you can get room and board for absolutely nothing, and New Orleans is only an hour and a half away! I hear that they have fantastic restaurants there! We could go visit... Rhonda

Did you know that Louis Armstrong signed his autographs, "Red Beans and Rice-ly, Yours" It's true! What a fantastic musician -- I just love him, and you can just imagine that he ate A LOT of red beans and rice in his day. He also travelled, so he knew what it was like to miss Louisiana home cooking. I've travelled a little bit, and I love tasting the food from anywhere, but there is no place like home! No matter how much fun I had, when I get home, I'm a happy camper! Rhonda P.S. Beans are still simmering away, and I forgot to tell you that I added garlic to the trinity (or "the pope" as garlic is called). When the vegetable seasoning was just beginning to color, I added the garlic and stirred it into the pot just for a bit until I could smell that fantastic garlic smell. That's when I added the stock.

IF IT'S MONDAY, THEN WE'RE HAVING RED BEANS AND RICE! (Yeah, I know... it's Tuesday. Just pretend it's still Monday. A girl has to sleep...) Red beans and rice are eaten throughout Louisiana every day of the week, but historically they were made on Mondays because Monday was wash day, and with all of the boiling water and hand-scrubbing, the ladies needed something they could simmer on the stovetop that would cook with very little attention – and red beans was the dish of choice. Every Monday – and especially in New Orleans – restaurants still offer red beans and rice on the menu. Now, there are city beans and then there are country beans. For city beans, red beans are the star of the show. They're eaten as the main course with a green salad on the side and French bread. In the country, the beans we grew up eating were still flavored with smoked pork, but not a lot of it (usually just a couple of small smoked ham hocks in the pot), and the beans were eaten as a side dish. Fried chicken or pork chops would be be the star of the day; we didn't eat a salad with it, and there would be fresh cornbread. Which version wins? New Orleans wins this competition hands-down! How do you make them? Well, like everything else around here, everyone makes them a little differently, but most people I know season their beans with a leftover ham bone, smoked pork hocks or sausage (you can throw in some tasso, too, if you want to); you can use a lot of things. I met a lady at a meat shop in North Baton Rouge. She was buying smoked turkey necks and was having the butcher cut them into 2-inch pieces. “Whatcha makin?” I asked, because that's always a fun way to start a conversation with a cook, and she said that since her daughter doesn't eat pork, she uses the smoked turkey necks in her red beans. She said it tasted great, so, you guessed it. I bought some and tried it for myself. I picked the meat from the bones before serving it, and it was good and it did have a pork flavor, but that was the only time I made it like that. Still, it's good information to pass on just in case someone out there has to cut pork out of their diet. Now, let's make some. Today I'm seasoning the beans with ham and sausage. I usually use pork hocks and sausage in red beans, and I like ham in white beans. However, I'm not cooking both red beans and white beans in the same week – and we're using a stock made from a ham bone because I cooked a whole ham several weeks ago and had plenty of ham leftover, which I froze, and I used the bone to make a stock, and that's what we're using today. While I wish there were hocks cooking in that pot, trust me, all of that smoky pork goodness is in that stock. I guarantee it! Here are the cast of ingredients And here are the red beans. They're red kidney beans, and while I am not paid to advertise for Camellia brand beans, that's what everyone uses. I grew up on them, and it's the only brand of beans I buy. Heat some bacon drippings to the pot. This is actually a mixture of ham and bacon drippings. Chop your trinity. I believe in seasoning in layers. I always season the trinity, and go ahead and add the bay leaves and thyme to the pot. Add stock to the pot and cover the beans by about 2-inches. Your beans always have to be covered with a liquid. Now, bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover. It will take a few hours to cook, but that's where I am now. After about an hour or so, I will correct the seasonings and add a few things. They will simmer some more... and then, today (hopefully!), we will eat! Rhonda

I tell that story all the time. OMG! I LOVE THAT STORY, TOO! And that's a good thing, because I love crawfish so much more than I love lobster! (Don't respond to that -- lobsters are good, and I have spent a lot of money just TRYING to have a clambake!) Rhonda

I did it the hard way. First, gather the recipes. Sounds easy. Everyone wants a family cookbook, and they want you to do it, but you would be surprised at what it took JUST to get the recipes. Then, you have to publish. I was naive and I just started typing in Word. Then, I learned that Word does NOT like long documents, so then we (I) broke everything down into chapters. Then, page numbers. They have to be automatic to be efficient, and I have about 15 chapters. That's when I learned about table of content and index entries. (Yes, go back to every single recipe and input the data.) I could go on and on... I wanted to have a theme *and* a title, so I finally decided on Honeysuckles and Huckleberries. There were 3 things that were consistent. First, every recipe was from a family member; that's a given. Then, and because of the title and theme (and because I love Mark Twain), at the beginning of every chapter there was a quote and illustration of his, and then on the back of every page I had a funny food quote -- most of the time accompanied by a family member's picture and a written memory I had of them telling the reader about the person. The first cookbook was published in 1990. Then, I did an upgrade maybe in 1998 or so. Then, I did it again in 2005 with lots of family pictures, stories that brought the recipes home, etc. We started in a 1-inch binder with room to spare, and now I'm we're over 2-1/2", printed on both sides. I've had so many people ask me for a cookbook... not even knowing what that meant. It's a very labor-intensive and expensive process. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! It's all about memories! Memories are associated with the food, and if no one writes that down, then it's lost forever, and that would be a shame. FWIW, at the end of the cookbook, I sign my name as "keeper of the cookbook" and that's what I am. I try to keep things real, and at the end of the day you just have to go forward on faith that someone in the future will care and they will pick up where you left off. It's a labor of love! Rhonda

Roberta, hi!!! I soooooo very much enjoyed your blog, and your gumbo was amazing! It doesn't matter where you live, you are definitely a Louisiana Girl I'll try to do okay, but this isn't easy. It's 9pm now, and I still haven't fed anyone dinner! Oh, well. I'll get to it, and I'm sure glad you're here. Rhonda