30/365: Dinner's On!

Tonight's dinner, red beans and rice, is one of my favorite meals. I grew up in a home where meals were prepared fast, not a lot of thought or care in the preparation, just get it on the table hot. Some of that was because my mom didn't plan our meals in advance and some was because she does not like to cook, either way it showed in what we got. I learned how to cook from three phenomenal women, Granny F, Maama, and Aunt Lou. All three were what I would label country cooks, basic meat and potato meals that always ended with a something sweet.

I was in my mid 20s before I started really experimenting with eating and cooking. Up until that point, I would never try something new in a restaurant and would only to go to chains if I was travelling. I discovered that I loved Cajun cuisine around that time. It became a mission of mine to learn how to cook the staples-- etouffee, jambalaya, gumbo, and red beans & rice. In the late 90s I spent a lot of time in NOLA and learned as much as I could by visiting diners and talking to local cooks. I read voraciously and experimented. I went back to New Orleans several years ago and was anxious to see how I had progressed. My verdict is that I'm getting there. I can make a rue without burning it and I no longer use a recipe for most of my Cajun dishes. I go by memory and taste. No only if I could get crawfish more readily . . .