Louisiana Culinary Tour - Day 3

The gracious hosts at Camellia Cove Bed & Breakfast in Washington, La. were not offended when I ate only my cantaloupe wedge, but passed on the Eggs Benedict. (Please don't tell her that one of the very few things I just can't seem to swallow is runny egg yolks!)

By lunch time, we were in Lafayette, La. at the Vermillionville historic education center in a cooking class, learning how to prepare a delicious, authentic Cajun/Creole meal of crawfish Etouffee in pastry shells; biscuits with fig preserves or Steen's Syrup; Creole shrimp and okra gumbo; chicken, sausage and tasso jambalaya, corn macque choux (pronounced mock-shew'; and bread pudding with sauce.

Already prepared with a meal replacement bar in my purse, I was ecstatic to learn that one dish would be made without a roux (pronounced roo), the flour and oil base of many Cajun dishes. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1/4 c. olive oil
2-pound bag of frozen okra
1/3 c. vinegar
1-1/2 c. Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. bell pepper, diced
2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp, seasoned with Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
1-1/2 quarts water

1. Heat oil in pot 60-90 seconds.
2. Add okra and saute to brown stage, or until it reduces to about half. When okra begins to get slimy, add vinegar to eliminate slime.
3. Add Rotel and other vegetables; cook for five minutes.
4. Add water and shrimp. Simmer on medium heat until shrimp are cooked.
5. Serve over rice. (Cajuns always use white rice. I use brown.)

This recipe will easily serve 8-10. I calculated a very filling, complete-meal portion using four ounces of shrimp and 1/2-cup of rice at 369 calories. Yummo!

Here's the lovely salad the chef at Charley G's prepared for me as an alternative to the sauteed-in-butter fixed-course entree.






And here's the dessert I enjoyed photographing, but not eating. The coffee was great, though!


Back to the hotel, I jumped on the treadmill for 35 minutes and knocked out six exercises on the weight machines. Now, it's time to say good morning and THANK YOU to all you wonderful, precious supporters who help to keep me strong and focused on my goals!

P.S. Pattie, I haven't had a lot of time to think about a six-word memoir, but here's one for now: "This is not the final act."