After the flight! Red beans and Rice Simmering on the stove!

2 lbs of red beans, rinsed in a colander
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 lb of bacon, cut into one inch pieces
2 lbs of smoked sausage, cut into slices
Season to your taste

Fill a stock pot half full of water. Add red beans, onion, bell pepper, sausage and bacon; add salt and pepper. Add Creole and Cajun Seasoning (optional). Stir. Cook on high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower heat to medium low. Simmer approximately 1 hour until the beans are soft and the gravy is thick. Stir often. Season to taste while simmering.

Serve over steamed rice.

Being naive sometimes keeps you safe...

A friend of mine used to crop dust for money while he was in college.

He was all of 21 and I was all of 16.

I would go up with him while he dropped the dust on the fields.

It was absolutely exhilarating,of course, I never told my mama. I always said we were going riding (and we did, in a plane!)

The dropping slowly of the plane made me excited about life. And of course he showed off his skill by climbing so quickly...sometimes I think more quickly than he should have...I think back on these times lately and now I realize I probably lived a lifetime before I was 25.

So you touch base with friends from the past. 

You wonder where they have been in their life while you were living your life.  Seems that every one was doing the same thing,  just in different places.  We sleep, we eat and we love.  What more could we ask for in this life.

So you go back to 1964 and remember the poster that hung over your bed until you married and wonder,  "Did I ever have an Endless Summer" and the answer is yes, with you my dear friends from the past!

Water and waves. Bikinis and "boy shorts". Hot summers and cool streams, oceans and Gulf.  Endless in a time when time wasn't measured.

Super Bowl Foodies

Today is so Special!  Super Bowl Sunday is a fun day for chips and dips, popcorn and company!  Here is the recipe for a good warm football day meal for all of your guests to enjoy!  Bon Appetit!

Chili Con Carne

2 lbs. of ground sirloin or chuck
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
4 cans of kidney beans (two dark, two light) drained
1 can or jar of fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 can of diced tomatoes
3 T. chili powder
2 tsp. of cumin
4 garlic cloves, sliced

Brown ground chuck with chopped bell pepper, garlic and onions. Add kidney beans, tomatoes, chili powder and cumin. Simmer about 15 minutes. Serve over rice or ladle into a soup bowl. If served in a soup bowl, top with cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Serves 6.

                              And don't forget a simple party platter of vegetables for munching!

And your favourite Chips and Dips!



I wrote this to a friend and wanted to share it with you

I try to always remember that my friends are special.

Margaret Meade, the American cultural anthropologist, said, "One of the most basic needs of a human being is to have someone waiting for them when they come home."

I think that holds true for correspondence...it lets one know that they are being thought about at that time, on that day, and at that moment.

White Chicken Chili

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium bell pepper chopped

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cans (16 ounces each) great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans (16 ounces each) butter or lima beans
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat; can use left baked skinned chicken

1/8 Slice of Jalapeno pepper (optional)

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, optional
Sour cream, optional
Salsa, optional

This savory soup is the perfect way to spice up a meal or to serve as a main course on a chilly night. But, it is not in the Roux cookbook.

Preparation Time: Approximately 10 minutes

Cook Time: Approximately 15 minutes

Preparation: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and slice of jalapeno; saute until tender. Add flour and cumin; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the beans and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until lightly thickened. Add the chicken and heat through. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and salsa, if desired.

I just wanted to let you know that this little cookbook is “light” on the subject of Salads…unless, it is a French potato salad to go into a bowl of Gumbo, salads hardly exist to Cajuns!

Why yes I know, during tomato season, we have salads…fresh pork sausage with rice and gravy, white beans on the side and fresh sliced tomatoes salted and peppered all in the same plate. (Sometimes with sliced cucumbers…everything from our garden patch.) Bon Appetit!