At Considerable Cost

Catch-up Post!   We had a fun, but low-key Mardi Gras season and Fat Tuesday this year.   We didn't try any get-togethers.   On Fat Tuesday, we were fortunate to have gumbo in the freezer, so all I had to cook was a decadent dessert before the Lenten season would commence at midnight.   Even though King Cake is a traditional Mardi Gars food, it's not what we wanted.   We wanted a homemade key lime pie and it was delicious!   The fleur-de-lis was an after-Christmas find at Kirklands.   If you don't have beads, you can find them at Dollar Tree.   My masks, as well as the gold balls in the hurricane glass, came from King Dollar: This little tree was our Dr. Suess tree at Christmas.   On Epiphany, it became our Mardi Gras tree.   The garland on the mantle was a new find this year from Kirkland's after Christmas, for just $3.00.  I threaded clearance Christmas ribbon thr...

I'm a Southerner, but not a Southern Belle.   I was never presented to society at a white-gloves-and-ball-gowns-cotillion.   I was never the princess or queen of a small-town festival.   I only drink unsweetened tea, whether hot or iced.   My parents wanted to see if they could raise me on only unsweetened tea, so I wouldn't like the taste of the sugared variety and it worked.   Mama always made two pitchers of iced tea.   And, though I can appreciate the cast and technical achievements of Gone With the Wind , I'm telling you, if I had any state secrets, I might give them up if forced to watch that film on an auto-loop.   Ashley sure wasn't worth all those ripples of misery and by the end, the only three people I could respect were Big Sam, Mammy and Belle Watling. But whenever I am once again close to the waters of the Mississippi River, my pulse seems to adjust itself to the undulations of the ...

The first time I met with my physical therapist, he told me that, in the future, I would have to weigh my pain against each situation.   Knowing I had three children, he asked me if the pain of childbirth was worth it and then told me I would have to look at each situation and decide if the pain or discomfort was worth it.  Last week, I made that decision three times.   I decided to: walk, slowly, with my children as they trick-or-treated, accompany them to our parish All Saints Day party, and drive to watch 12 Years A Slave in a cinema.   Yes, they were all worth the discomfort, which is significantly less than that which I was experiencing a few weeks ago, thanks be to God. In this post, I wanted to write about the films of 12 Years a Slave director, Steve McQueen .   I wanted to write about that film, in particular, in detail.   I have pages of notes and lots of thoughts bouncing around in my head, but I can't approach t...

My latest post at Bourbon and Boots is all about gumbo.   I share a reflection on this favorite food and then my recipe for Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. ...The roux is earthy--in color, scent and taste--and so it offers the perfect culinary representation of south Louisiana.   Quotes from southern authors fill my head, along with visions of Spanish moss draped over limbs of live oaks, with all these roux-induced hallucinations helped on by the musical accompaniment of lively or mournful Cajun music as I stir... Read more at: http://www.bourbonandboots.com/cajun-gumbo-recipe/

Here's a recipe for one of our family's favorite meals.   Don't let the name throw you off; this Louisiana dish really is delicious! Typically, this is for Sunday brunch, but it manages to find its way to our weekday table, usually as leftovers, and occasionally this is the meal I bring to a new mom.   In New Orleans, it is a popular brunch dish. Sunday brunch is my favorite meal for entertaining.     It's already a relaxed day and the assortment of foods you can set out for brunch usually ensures something for everyone.   This dish, grillades (pronounced GREE-yods or GREE-yod), is usually the main dish at brunch.   It is accompanied by an assortment of fresh fruit, buttermilk biscuits, muffins or another breakfast bread, juices, coffee, and a yogurt bar with fruits and toppings, like granola, for the children (and adults).   Grillades are simply bits of round steak (or cube steak for more tenderness) simmered in a bro...

 This post has absolutely nothing to do with football stadiums or sports spectator seating. Our new home has one flaw.   It can get hot.   Really hot.   Last winter, we rarely had to run the central heat, except for maybe a cycle or two first thing in the morning to take away the chill.   Yea for the winter utility bills!  Oh, wait a minute.   This is Texas, so that really only affects two--maybe three--utility bills? We have no mature trees anywhere near our home, so our large roof just soaks in the heat.   Thermal curtains are on the front windows for the morning heat (when our door handle gets too hot to touch) and solar screens are on the kitchen windows, on the back of the house, where the evening sun comes bearing down.   I complained about our lack of trees to a friend from Louisiana.   She told me the new neighborhoods cleared all the trees and people had cut down trees because of all t...