Fresh turnips are in full supply right now at Southern farmers markets and they’re one of the easiest and most satisfying winter veggies to prepare. I picked some up last week from the Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge. If you’re not yet in the habit of cooking turnips, give them try. And if their reputation for bitterness scares you or your kids, fear not. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness. Another secret is how you peel them. Continue Reading…
Typical Louisiana.
Just when the rest of the country is swearing off all things fattening, here we go after New Year’s rolling out iced-to-the-hilt king cakes whose very nature requires eating in succession. But one trend that’s emerged, perhaps to combat this, is the personal or mini king cake, which more bakeries around the region are offering.
A beauty in that category is the King cake cupcake® by Gourmet Girls catering in Baton Rouge (pictured).
At a certain point in the Deep South, it seems like kumquats that will not away. They’re everywhere, from gift baskets to supermarkets to local trees heavy with ripe fruit. The two in my herb garden are putting out a shocking number of kumquats this year, and they’re at their sweet peak right now. And because I’m a crappy gardener with minimal success in growing edibles, I hate the thought of letting any of them go to waste.
A few weeks back, I posted a kumquat honey sorbet recipe that was a big success. This time around, I’ve got a formula for kumquat-banana bread.
We eat a ton of fresh Louisiana sweet potatoes around my house. My mother-in-law just dropped off a box she’d procured from a farmer near the Avoyelles Parish town of Hessmer and it came with the same edict it does every time she brings us a batch. “Leave them dirty. Don’t wash them until you cook them.” It’s a sacred procedure among many in the Bayou State. More about that here.
On busy weeknights, I often cube sweet potatoes, toss them in olive oil and chopped rosemary and roast them on a cookie sheet. But during holidays my favorite version involves a simple mash of sweet potatoes blended with just a few ingredients and baked in a fresh orange shell.
Welcome!
You’re probably here because you love food – Southern food in general, and Louisiana cuisine in particular. Food is evolving in Louisiana, just as it is everywhere else on the planet. But here, food informs identity in a manner that is distinct and fascinating. Live here long enough and you feel the influence and tug of the culinary culture. Nowhere else are the foodways as specific and intact as they are in the Bayou State.
This blog is a place to park our thoughts about Louisiana’s foodways, its people and culture. It’s also where you can find links to my articles in regional publications, and soon, snippets from my book,Hungry for Louisiana, An Omnivore’s Journey (LSU Press, March 2015) In it, I take a look at how food sets life’s rhythm in the Bayou State, a place where local and seasonal were always a priority – well before it was cool. Each chapter examines a different emblematic food from the Louisiana tableau and why it has such a strong hold on us. I wrote it after years of covering the food and culture of Louisiana as a food and features writer.
Food starts with community, so along the way, I want to hear what you have to say. Stay in touch by commenting on posts, or through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Thanks for stopping by!