Alien Tea Shoppe

We live two hours north of New Orleans, so a lot of our food and traditions are creole based because of the close proximity.  While our dishes were pretty fantastic, it wasn't until we laid our hands upon the big black book that our dishes went from really great and pretty authentic to out of this freaking world!  The book is tall and has a black fabric cover (sometimes we're not very ingenious with names) and it is a recipe book from the Junior League of New Orleans published in 1972. Just look at that GORGEOUS okra!  We were preparing... Gumbo! Gumbo.  Everyone's heard of gumbo (gum-boh).  Everyone generally loves gumbo.  But not everyone understands what gumbo really is.   Gubma (goom-bah) is the African word for okra, which is where the word Gumbo comes from.   If you're gumbo doesn't have okra, then it's really only soup.  Sure gumbo is soup, but that would be like making chicken and dumplins, but calling it beef stew.  Just...

Today an internet friend of mine wanted favourite holiday recipes from her followers, and it got me thinking about my absolute favourite family recipes.  The one's that have always been a tradition to one's that have become new traditions.  There are not a lot, but there are too many to fit into one post neatly, so I'll be doing a three-parter.  This first blog post will be my favourite recipes that have something to do with Thanksgiving.     Thanksgiving, as well as Christmas, were split holidays for us.  My mom's family lived 30 minutes north of us and my dad's family lived 3 hours west of us, and we'd do both holidays with both sides of the family.  And very different traditions came from both sides. I always had a half day of school on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  I had three jobs in food preparation.  Cranberry sauce, congealed salad, and succotash, because they are all things a kid can't mess up.  All three recipes w...

Super extreme close-up! Since my friend and I were carving pumpkins last night, I cobbled together some recipes I found in order to utelize the fresh pumpkin innards.  They were beyond delicious, and since several people wanted the recipe, I thought I'd write it up. I combined two different found recipes for these cookies. The first recipe , the cookies were too time consuming to whip up or to bake.  The second recipe , the glaze didn't seem as appealing. I used fresh pumpkin, instead of canned. I did not slightly flatten the cookies prior to baking. I, personally, refer to the glaze as icing (not important, but now you know) and found that I did not need to add more milk. Also, while parchment paper is  a great idea, I just drizzled the glaze on using a spoon all willy nilly; some cookies were on the cooling racks, some were on plates; it all turned out fine.   I also did not let the glaze sit for 20 minutes. Mmm... pumpkin innards! Pumpkin S...

Guest welcome sign and our festive autumn wreath I am a fan of parties, though I don't host many.  I am also a big fan of alliteration, as well as the word swell.  Today, I did, in fact, host a rather swell party, though the alliteration was merely just for this post. The official and free party pack from HouseParty.com I joined a site called HouseParty.com at the beginning of the summer.  Name brands partner with this site to get the word out about their products.  You apply, & if selected to host, you receive a free party pack to help you in hosting a great party.   I've applied several times, but last month was selected to host the Land O' Lakes Saut é  Express Seasoned Meal Starter House Party.  When my free party pack arrived it contained instructions, tips, and hints.  A navy blue Saut é  Express apron, bamboo cooking spoon, and two coupons for two free Saut é  Express Seasoned Meal Starter packages.  ...