Part 2 -- South Louisiana jaunt

On Tuesday Richard and I drove south to a couple of small towns. The plan was to see a bit of the landscape, perhaps a little culture, and the Vatican exhibit at St. Joseph's in Rayne. 

In Crowley, home of the rice festival, we saw this fabrication shop where swamp boats are made. We had to pull over and get a few pictures. How my husband knows about this sort of thing always amazes me, but he was able to answer all of my silly questions. 

So the way these things work is that the boat sits on top of the rice field, or crawfish pond or marsh, wherever. The big paddle wheel on the back "floats" on the bottom and pushes the boat. The hydraulic arm is long so that it can sink deeply or just roll along on top of the swampy ground, and the driver can adjust the depth as needed.

Farmers and fishermen can purchase boats in different widths, lengths, and paddle wheels, depending on their individual needs. Interesting, no? Notice the tarp on the top? That's because it's hot in Louisiana. The tarps provide some shade for the human and for the product on board. That question I did not need to ask.

As we drove through Crowley, I took a few pictures of the downtown area. We saw some beautiful old homes, but the rain and time didn't allow for pictures. Have you noticed the rain splattered windshield?

Isn't this a fabulous picture? Yes, those specks are
raindrops, but I still like it. The cross makes it perfect.

And on the way home we were enjoying the beautiful sunset when Richard realized that I was taking pictures of the sun setting from the town of Sunset. Cute, no? 

Mermantau, Crowley, and Rayne...a South Louisiana jaunt

I got a text from Meggan telling me about the special exhibit this week at St. Joseph's in Rayne. It looked interesting, so our  first open day (Tuesday), Richard and I jumped in the truck. About the same time, Rory called to say there's a little place we might want to check out. He hadn't been, but still...

So off we went in hopes of an adventure. What we got was a downpour. The interesting little place was a dud, but we saw lots of rice fields, several rice mills, and a couple of towns that we would visit again. 

Mermentau River

Not much larger than Evergreen, Mermentau is a little town on the Mermentau River. The river looks wide here, and it is, but it spills into Lake Arthur where it becomes much bigger as it travels into Grand Lake and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. 

One of many rice fields between Mermentau and Crowley

The area between Mermentau and Crowley is part of the Grand Chenier prairie, rich soil perfect for growing rice, crawfish, and sugar cane. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes, "The Chenier Plain is a popular destination for nature watchers, anglers and hunters, who come from around the world....With its location at the terminus of the Central and Mississippi Flyways, coastal wetlands in this focal area are extremely important for waterfowl and...up to 5.8 million ducks. The area also has productive estuaries, nearby forests and grasslands, and expansive tidal wetland systems. The coastal waters...contribute substantially to the nation’s commercial fishery landings, particularly for shrimp, blue crab, oysters and Gulf menhaden operations."

Top: Riviana rice mill; Bottom: Supreme Rice
Mill in operation (note the train cars waiting to be loaded)

From Crowley we moseyed east to Rayne along Hwy. 90 for the original reason of the trip: The Eucharistic Miracles of the World exhibit.  It was set up to explain each miracle independently. Placards give an overview, details, and photos of monstrances and tabernacles, artwork,  churches and saints. 

And that rounds up our little jaunt. There were other interesting finds along the way, but this post is plenty long already. 
Thanks for stopping by.

Welcome to the American Made Brand Blog Tour!

Thanks for visiting Louisiana!  We are excited to have you and hope you enjoy your visit to "The Pelican State."  Louisiana earned it's statehood in April 30, 1812 and is the only state to govern using the French Napoleonic Law: the reason we have parishes rather than counties.

Many people think of New Orleans when they think of Louisiana, and that certainly is reasonable when one considers the impact NOLA has on our economy, history, culture and lives.  But there is much, much more to our state. Let's travel from city to city for a glimpse of the culture and traditions of the magnolia state.

Louisiana has a predominately Catholic community in the southern parishes, myself included.  I can't imagine going to New Orleans without visiting or attending mass at St. Louis Cathedral.  Within walking distance of the cathedral are the French Market, Cafe du Monde, and the Riverfront. Plan to spend most of the morning in the downtown area for beignets and shopping and strolling.

Of course, there's the French Quarters with its party atmosphere, music, and delicious alcoholic concoctions.  Be warned!  A hurricane (and every other drink) is potent.  Every sip has consequences.


Have children in your party?  Take them on a street car ride to the Audubon Zoo, but don't forget the Aquarium, IMAX, Insecterium, New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) and WWII Museum.  All are filled with interesting, fun activities and history.  Like the weird?  Voodoo and cemeteries are a big draw.  I could go on, but we need to move on.  To represent NOLA, I included the Mercedes Benz Superdome because so many people visit.


Baton Rouge is next on our route.  The Louisiana State Capitol is a definite stop.  On my license plate it's the tall, pointed building.  I have memories of searching the tree line for the first glimpse of the Capitol as we drove into BR when I was a child.  It is the tallest state capitol in the union, a point of pride for Louisianans. Visit Baton Rouge is a good place to do some searching if you're planning a trip.  The zoo is awesome and there's lots of shopping at the Mall of Louisiana.  Do yourself a favor and visit River Road plantations and the LSU Rural Life Museum.  


Lafayette is city of cajun French culture.  Visit Acadian Village...like the Rural Life Museum in BR, it has a collection of historical buildings.  Architecture is important to Louisiana's history and culture.  Mardi Gras is a huge festival in Lafayette but with a family friendly atmosphere. Swamp tours, food, history, festivals, and friendly people are all attractions that draw people to Lafayette.  You definitely want to go to a Zydeco concert.

I would not do my state justice if I left out our swamps.  Louisiana has swamps in every section of the state, including the northernmost parishes. Of course, swamps are far apart in the north, but it's interesting to travel along the interstate in pine woods and hills and suddenly there's a small swamp of cypress trees, moss, and lily pads.  


And speaking of the northern parishes, there are two cities that I must mention: Shreveport in the west and Monroe in the east. In Shreveport there's the Boardwalk for shopping; riverboat casinos; golfing, fishing and outdoor activities; and beautiful public gardens.  Monroe has parks, gardens, a zoo, and outdoor attractions.  Of course, Duck Commander is located here, but you know that from Duck Dynasty.  

Between these Louisiana cities are lakes, woods, small towns and interesting historical places, such as Poverty Point.  Louisiana has too many things to do it justice; I can only hope that my license plate gives one a sense of the beauty, culture and people of Louisiana.  

Don't forget to visit Olive and Ollie to see the Ohio license plate.  It debuts today, also.  But before you go, enter to win the giveaways.  First place is a set of eight fat quarters from the American Made Brand by Clothworks.  AMB will send the fabric once I choose a winner and contact them with your info, so make sure I have an email address for contacting you.  The second prize is a small fleur de lis wall hanging that I made a few weeks ago specifically for this giveaway.  Again, leave an email address.

How to enter?  Couple of ways actually:

1.  follow my blog and leave a comment telling how you follow
2. like my Facebook page and leave a comment saying you did
3. share the American Made Brand website and leave a comment telling us how you shared.  Click here and scroll to the very bottom for a list of ways to share, such as FB, Pinterest, Twitter and so on
4. leave a comment telling where in Louisiana you have or would like to visit

Each comment is a opportunity to win.  I'll choose a winner on Thursday, June 5.  Must have a U.S. address to win.  You can come back as often as you'd like to re-enter.  Now, hurry, go visit Olive and Ollie...Heather would love to see you!

Crawfish!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Seafood/CrawfishBoil.htm

Here in Louisiana crawfish are a wonderful opportunity for family, friends, and food--our favorite things for keeping tradition alive.  Our favorite way to eat crawfish is boiled, but we also enjoy them fried, in an ettouffe gravy, in crawfish Couvillion, and in poboys.  Yes, we love our crawfish!


I'm posting about crawfish because I've had the pleasure of enjoying boiled crawfish two nights in a row.  What a weekend!  Last night we had a wonderful time with some friends from work.  Laughing, telling stories and boiling crawfish.

http://stacyburkhartphotography.weebly.com

Tonight Rich and I had the kids over for......yea, crawfish!  We definitely taught our children the importance of Cajun traditions because our sons can boil a sack of crawfish!  Really, they were perfect!  Exactly enough seasoning with corn, potatoes, mushrooms and onions as sides.
What a fabulous weekend..... and there's still another day left!

Crawfish Etouffe

Crawfish Etouffe photo from Emeril Lagasse website

In Louisiana many people eat crawfish and consider it a wonderful delicacy.  My family prefers them boiled with potatoes, onions, mushrooms and corn.  However, we also eat them fried, especially on French bread as  Po'boys piled high with tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, mayo, ketchup and mustard.  And when we want crawfish when company is on the way, we mix up a pot of  etouffe.   On Friday I used four pounds of crawfish to feed about 12 people, but we're big eaters when crawfish is on the menu!  My sister and her girls came for a visit last week.  Since we're Catholics and this is the Lenten season, I had to find something other than meat to cook for supper.  Laura suggested crawfish because it's not a food they get very often in Tennessee.


To make the etouffe, I generally use a huge Dutch oven made of cast iron.  It holds what seems like a ton of gravy, browns my seasoning well, and heats evenly.  The following is my version of crawfish etouffe but uses only one pound of crawfish tails which serves four.  At the end of the recipe I have added other uses for crawfish etouffe.  Afterall, once you master the art of making etouffe, you'll love the dish so much you'll want to wow your friends with it often.


Crawfish Etouffe

1/4 cup oil or butter

one medium onion (1 cup chopped)
two stalks celery (1/2 cup chopped)
one medium bell pepper (1/2 cup chopped)

1/3 cup plain flour

one can Rotel tomatoes
2 cups water
one pound Louisiana crawfish tails (peeled and deveined)
salt and pepper to taste


In a heavy pot, heat the oil on medium heat and saute the onion, celery, and bell pepper until just wilted.  Add the flour and brown until the vegetables are well sauted.  Add tomaotes and cook down, stirring continuously so they do not burn.  Add the water, salt and pepper.  Allow to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes to make a gravy.  Finally add the crawfish and simmer for 15 minutes.  Serve over rice.

boiled crawfish photo from pdphoto.org

We generally eat crawfish etouffe over rice the way we eat rice and chicken gravy or beef gravy or whatever gravy.  However, in Louisiana we love our crawfish etouffe so much that we've experimented with other ways to eat it.  If you're not on a diet, you might fry up some catfish, place a few strips on the plate and smother it with etouffe.  Talk about delish!  


We also like crawfish dip, which is essentially etouffe cooked down.  I generally use smaller crawfish for dip or chop the larger ones so that the dip is more consistently thick.  We love buttery crackers with our dip, but chips and other crackers work also.  


Crawfish etouffe mixed in with cornbread is very good.  Simply crumble the cornbread and use it the way you would rice.  And of course, there are many ways to use crawfish etouffe with pasta, but if you simply boil the pasta and drain, then mix it in with the etouffe, you'll have a fast, easy pasta dish.  Simply keep the pasta and etouffe warm on the stove top for about 10 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the juices from the crawfish.  


If you haven't tried eating crawfish in the past, you might want to consider purchasing peeled, deveined tails from the freezer section of the grocery store.  Boiled crawfish can be a bit intimidating.  They aren't the prettiest plate of food when compared to, say baked turkey or roast leg of lamb.  But they are just as delicious and once you develop a taste for them, you'll probably be thrilled to break a mudbug in half and peel the meat from the tail portion.  You can't imagine the wonderful aroma or the succulent taste.....it's something you simply have to experience.