Waiter, There are Butterflies in My Zucchini!

After Mardi Gras comes Ash Wednesday, starting the Lenten season.  Lent is all about sacrifice and moderation, which is why Mardi Gras is...well, what it is.  It's one last effort to live it up before letting go of one's vices.

During Lent we always gave up something that meant a lot to us--something that would be a sacrifice.  For my family that usually meant a favorite food like chocolate, candy, or coffee.  (My obsession with food is genetic.)

Growing up, we didn't eat meat on Ash Wednesday or on Fridays for the 40 day period before Easter.  That meant my mom had to come up with a bunch of meatless meals. 

Truthfully it wasn't that hard.  And, truthfully, it wasn't really a sacrifice for us.  Seafood is allowed and Lent meant that we were guaranteed one seafood meal a week.  That was considered a treat!

Often that meal was fried fish or fried shrimp because it was quick for my mom to prepare and pleased everyone.  She also made tuna casserole, which I despise no matter who cooks it, tuna salad sandwiches (hey, canned tuna goes on sale during Lent!), and a potato and egg scramble that I'll have to ask her about.  I remember liking it, but not how she made it.

Even my son's public school still serves a meatless meal on Fridays during Lent.
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I know it's hard to believe, but I don't eat like this all the time...this being the types of recipes I have on my blog.  I do cook healthier dishes too.  Are you relieved?  If you read along every week, you probably have wondered about my health.

I try to cook a meatless meal once or twice a week, even when it isn't Lent.  It's mostly about trying to lower my grocery bill, but if it means cooking something that is better for us that's good too.

Since it's the start of Lent and many people are looking for meatless ideas, I thought I'd feature a meatless meal I like more and more every time I make it.

* This recipe for Farfalle with Zucchini and Parsley Almond Pesto comes from Food & Wine Magazine and can be seen here. 

* The only thing I think I do differently is that I cook the zucchini longer than 5 minutes.  The recipe says the zucchini should be brown "in spots."  I prefer the spots to be the color of the zucchini.  What I'm saying is I like the brown parts!

* I actually like this more reheated the next day.  It doesn't seem like it's one of those dishes that taste better leftover...but it is.

Mise en place: Olive oil, zucchini, garlic, Parmesan cheese, almonds, parsley, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and farfalle
(yeah, I shop at Wally World...you already know I'm cheap)

Can you do two things at one time?  How 'bout three? 
If you are awesome, start the pasta water going while making the pesto. 
If you are super awesome, start the water, make the pesto, AND heat the olive oil for the zucchini.  Juggle, juggle, juggle!

Some days I'm awesome.  Some days I'm super awesome.  A lot of days I'm neither.

Salt some water in a big ole pot and get it boiling.

While your water heats, make the pesto by adding garlic to a food processor. Pulse until thoroughly chopped then add the almonds. Pulse until they are coarse. Add olive oil and parsley and pulse until the mixture becomes paste-like.

Add Parmesan cheese and pulse to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.

This pesto is tasty and more economical than a traditional basil/pine nut pesto.

It may be about time to start cooking your pasta.  Before you drain it, swipe about a cup of cooking liquid from the pot. 
You may need it, you may not, but it's better to have it than to wish you did.

If you haven't already, heat olive oil in a skillet.  Add the zucchini and cook until it browns.  I like to go 8-10 minutes.  I like a lot of color.

Add the drained pasta to large bowl.  Toss with the pesto.

Toss in the zucchini.  I like to do the pesto first and separately to avoid mangling the zucchini.  If the pasta looks too dry, add some of the cooking liquid until it looks right (ha!).  Season with salt and pepper.

Serve topped with more Parmesan cheese.

linking with Food on Friday: Zucchini @ Carole's Chatter

Farfalle with Zucchini and Parsley-Almond Pesto

from Food & Wine magazine

1 pound farfalle
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup unsalted roasted almonds
1 1/2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound zucchini (2 medium), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick
Pinch of crushed red pepper
water from cooking pasta

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farfalle and cook until it is al dente. Reserve about a cup of cooking liquid, then drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the garlic clove until it is finely chopped. Add the almonds and pulse until they are coarsely chopped. Add the parsley and 1/2 cup of the olive oil and process until the parsley is finely chopped. Add ¼ c of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and pulse just until the pesto is combined. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Add the zucchini and cook over moderately high heat until tender and browned in spots, about 8-10 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and season with salt and pepper.

Combine the pasta, zucchini, and pesto. Add cooking liquid from pasta if the mixture is too dry. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and top with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano.

The pesto can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight.

Mardi Gras 2010 Part 2: Cajun Style!

Last time I promised pictures of the Cajun Mardi Gras as well as Boucherie pictures. I over-did Mardi Gras (because that's what you're supposed to do) so somethin's gotta give, people! The Boucherie will have to wait.

In Cajun Country, Mardi Gras is referred to as the courir de Mardi Gras, which means Mardi Gras run. Instead of marching bands and floats with riders throwing beads like most people think of when they hear "Mardi Gras," this is a much different type of ritual. And it is a ritual.

I'll let The Husband explain since he gives presentations on this topic...

The ritual of the Mardi Gras Courir originated as far back as the Roman Empire and was adapted by Christians to fit in with the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. It was originally a pagan rite to celebrate the coming of Spring, and that makes it fit nicely right before the beginning of Lent. And for anyone who doubts that this celebration can trace its roots back to the middle ages, all you have to do is look at the costumes. Even today, costumes in rural Louisiana still make fun of the three groups that ruled people's lives in the Middle Ages: the nobility, the clergy, and the academics.

Members of a community mask and ride out on horseback into the countryside, pretending to be a band of wild outlaws. Their arrival turns all of society on its head as they stop traffic, interrupt government services, and cause general mayhem. But while they are pretending to be outlaws, these masked riders' intent is far from dangerous.

Most experts see Mardi Gras as a release valve for the pressures of society. By pretending to be outlaws, the members of this community can release all of the stresses that have built up over the past months. And, besides, the true goal of the Courir de Mardi Gras is actually to collect ingredients for a gumbo to which all of the community is invited. The Mardi Gras (a term for both the day and the participants) set out on horseback or in wagons begging residents for ingredients to make a community gumbo. The highlight comes when a farmer donates a chicken or two. The farmer throws the chicken up in the air and the Mardi Gras must chase it down and catch it. In the end, the whole thing is really an affirmation of community at the same time as it allows everyone to pretend to be something they are not.

Examples of traditional costumes
Usually they are brightly colored. The fringe represents the fact that these are poor beggars roaming around in tattered clothing. Small bells are sewn on to create noise when the Mardi Gras moves. The hat, called a capuchon, mocks the tall hats worn by nobility and the clergy.

There are also some non-traditional costumes. This year, I was sad to see so many without masks and capuchons. Cowboy hats and sunglasses don't cut it, people.

But now and then there are some really good non-trads...
I call him Pelvis

This clever guy decided to create a costume from trash he found along the run. He also caught a chicken.

Trickery
As pretend outlaws, the Mardi Gras love to play tricks on people. They may sweep a girl off her feet and plant her on top of a high post. They may untie shoes or try to tie your shoes together. They may "steal" something out of your hand as they pass by...hold tight to your cameras.

This Mardi Gras decided to play a trick on a child, who runs away.

This Mardi Gras decided to play a trick on me.

The Run
In small communities across Acadiana, Mardi Gras gather early in the morning to go out on the run. It is an amazing procession, watching them head out to the countryside to beg for ingredients for a gumbo.

There is always a Capitaine--the one who maintains order among these outlaws and beggars. He enters private property with a raised flag and asks permission to enter. If permission is not given or if no one is home, the group rides to the next house. If permission is given, the Capitaine lowers the flag and all hell seems to break loose.
The Capitaine keeps the Mardi Gras in line with a whip. It's controlled chaos.

In his book, Cajun Country, Dr. Barry Jean Ancelet explains that the whip is "reminiscent of the medieval processions of flagellants who whipped themselves and each other to purge their past sins..." He also adds that "this practice also has roots in the ancient Roman lupercalia when masked costumes men ritually beat women with animal pelts to insure fertility."

The Eunice Mardi Gras heading out for the day
Led by the Capitaine(s)

Some of the Mardi Gras on horseback.

There is often a bandwagon, or in larger groups there may be more than one spread out through the procession. The band plays La Chasson de Mardi Gras (The Mardi Gras Song) throughout the run. This song tells the story of the Mardi Gras going out on a long journey to obtain food or money for a gumbo.

So all this begging...nothing comes free. The Mardi Gras are expected to perform and entertain. Some towns, such as in Iota, perform some of the rituals for the crowd gathered downtown. This is mostly for tourists I suspect, but older people who can't make it out for the Courir also seem to appreciate it.

Here, the Mardi Gras perform for the crowd in downtown Iota. Notice that this Capitaine keeps close watch and his whip handy.

After a little song and dance, the Mardi Gras start begging. The crowd threw change.

Part of the fun comes when the Capitaine(s) try to gather the Mardi Gras up to move on. Some do not go willingly. That's when the whips come out. Part of this is for show...more entertainment for onlookers. Part of this comes from being masked and being able to escape following every day rules.

Here two Capitaines try to wrangle a few stubborn Mardi Gras.

Chicken Chasing
This is probably the highlight of the Courir. A chicken isn't just given...it's thrown into the air and the Mardi Gras go after it.
Here are some Mardi Gras out in a field chasing after chickens.

After being out on the run all day, the Mardi Gras get back to town around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. They parade down the main street(s).

Showing off a chicken.

He caught one too.

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Mardi Gras 2010 Part 1: Parades, Parades, and More Parades

No food today, just pictures of some pre-Mardi Gras happenings.

Part 2 will include Boucherie pictures and Fat Tuesday celebrations, Cajun style.


Our Carnival celebrations started a bit late this year due to my work schedule.  But our start date was fitting since it was also Super Bowl Sunday.  We went to a nice family-oriented parade in Scott, LA.  Caught the parade at the very beginning so we could rush home for the Super Bowl.  I probably don't have to tell you what the theme of most of the floats ended up being.

There was a different feel to the Scott parade this year--more excitement b/c the Saints would play later that evening.  It seemed that everyone was about to bust over the anticipation.

I thought the parade was also interesting because it touched on New Orleans Mardi Gras parades with floats and riders throwing beads and cups. I also heard a New Orleans Mardi Gras classic: "Mardi Gras Mambo" playing from one of the floats. But the Scott parade also had elements of the Cajun Mardi Gras--several float riders wore traditional Courir de Mardi Gras costumes on the more wagon-like floats and played the Cajun Mardi Gras classic "La Chanson de Mardi Gras." It was a nice blend of two different Mardi Gras styles.

And The Boy definitely had fun.

By the end of the week, we had snow. The second time this winter...once was definitely odd, but twice? 
Well, the Saints did win.

The snow melted quickly and we drove to New Orleans to catch some parades.  No big name parades this year--it was a short and unexpected trip.  It was damp and cold with a sharp wind and no one felt like standing around for hours staking out a parade-viewing spot.  A bunch of my extended family met up at my Grandma's to visit.  When I was younger, we'd do this during Carnival season and my grandpa would make beignets.

Only my dad was brave (foolish) enough to go out with us to the parade that night.  It was COLD.  The theme of this parade focused on different types of parties found in New Orleans...the floats featured foods and activities associated with them.

Like Red Beans & Rice

Seafood boils

Or going to a basketball game. New Orleans is home of the Hornets...although this float was very careful not to actually have the words "Hornets" visible anywhere. Guess everyone was gun shy from the whole NFL/Who Dat thing?

And my favorite beignets and cafe au lait

The next day, we walked down to my mom and dad's corner in Algiers, LA (across the river from NO) and saw the NOMTOC parade (New Orleans Most Talked of Club).  This parade is organized by the Jugs Social Club and features lots of marching bands, dance groups, and horse riders.

There were floats too...
The state bird

New Orleans Zephyrs Baseball

And another Hornets float that doesn't say Hornets.  Hmmm...

And if that wasn't enough for one weekend, we drove back to Eunice to participate in the annual Old Tyme Boucherie.  I've mentioned Boucheries before...this is an event where families and neighbors came together to butcher a hog.  Since there was no refrigeration, everyone split the meat.  Nothing was wasted; the entire hog was used..."Everything but the Squeak." 

Pictures from the Boucherie, including making cracklins, will come later.  I thought since this is supposed to be a food blog, that deserved a little bit of spotlight.

After the Boucherie, the Children's Mardi Gras came back to town after a day of chicken-chasing (more on that in the next post too).  The Lil' Mardi Gras, paraded through downtown, throwing beads to everyone who lined the street to watch.

Lil' Mardi Gras arrives downtown

Tossing a cup to the crowd

I can tell these girls had a good time chasing chickens. 
That snow turns to mud down here, ya'll

More about chicken chasing and a boucherie up next.  Plus maybe a song...

The "Til It Looks Right" Club

I didn't always possess the gastronomic awesomeness that you see here before you.
(Yeah, yeah, you can stop laughing now)

There was a time when I didn't cook.
Make that couldn't.  Couldn't cook.

A time when it wasn't so much "watcha want for dinner?" but "what flavor Lipton noodles tonight?"  A time when chicken breasts & cream of mushroom soup mingling in the crockpot was fancy livin'.  A time when adding a can of chili to the Blue Box was being creative in the kitchen.

It wasn't that I couldn't cook because I didn't have the skill.  I couldn't cook because I didn't want to fail.  I hate failing. 

But one can only eat so much cream of mushroom soup chicken and chili mac.  At some point I said, "This has got to stop."  I'm not sure exactly when or what made me pull my culinary head out of my butt.  And I'm not going to now tell a tale of a wonderful, warm, fuzzy, eye-opening experience.  Heck no.  It was frustrating and annoying.

A lot of people will tell you, if you can read, you can cook.  But most good cooks around here don't use written recipes.  They cook like maw-maw.  They cook from their heads and hearts.  They cook as if possessed by some kind of Zen magic.  That's the kind of food I wanted to cook.  And it's easy to turn off on a wrong winding country road when I don't have a detailed map.  Then I'm lost somewhere in the middle of crawfish ponds and rice fields.  The ingredients to make dinner surround  me, but I don't know where or how to start.

So, I'd call up my mom.
"Ma--how long do you cook the chicken?"
"Oh, you know...til it looks right."
"Um, ok.  Thanks."
She never sensed my sarcasm.

I tried to pry the secrets out of my mother-in-law.
"This is good...how'd you make it?  What's in it?"
"First you brown the chicken.  Drain it if it's greasy, greasy."

I guess it's ok if the chicken is greasy.  Greasy, greasy, however, is unacceptable.

"Then you add some onions and bell pepper..."
"How much?"
"Onions or peppers?"
"Both."
"Oh, enough so it looks right."
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh.

For someone who hates to fail and conducts most things with lab-style precision, "til it looks right" is about the most awful thing you could say.  I'd rather if you just flip me off and be done with it.

I don't know how it happened, but I have become one of these annoying people...a member of the "til it looks right" club. 

It started as a trickle when The Husband asked me what I thought about his roux.  I said, "that looks about right."  Oh no.

Then someone asked me, "how long do you cook the fish?"  I couldn't stop myself...just blurted it out.  That annoying, frustrating phrase that has been like finger nails on newspaper to me (finger nails on a chalk board don't bother me--it's newspaper): I cook it til it looks right.

I've come a long way.  Baby.
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These "Buddah" Beans below are something I wanted to know how to make for a very long time.  But asking people was useless since all I ever got was "til it looks right" and I didn't know what right was.  I tried to duplicate the soft, creamy beans I'd get at local restaurants by cooking them like red beans and rice, but that wasn't right.  It wasn't until I came across a recipe in an old, tattered Cajun cookbook/pamphlet type of thing that I discovered what was right--using fresh or frozen beans, not dried and starting with a roux.

Of course it starts with a roux!  Duh.  No one told me that part because it's a given that I somehow didn't get.  But this "recipe" was almost as bad as talking to my mom or mother-in-law.  The amounts of ingredients were sketchy.  And a note "if you use canned beans, add less water" made me laugh since no amount was given for water in the first place.  It's all highly comical to me now.

Being lima beans, butter beans are also often hated by the masses.  And that's a shame because they can be so creamy and good... 

Mise en place for "buddah" beans: flour and vegetable oil for the roux, a small onion, about 1 lb fresh or frozen butter beans, water to cover the beans, salt, pepper, and sugar if you'd like.  Smoked sausage can also be added.

The classic "first, you make a roux."  Why did no one tell me?  Why didn't I just know?

By the way, The Husband inherited this cast iron pot from his grandmother (MaMa).  It has the most well seasoned, smooth surface I have ever seen.

When the roux is the color of peanut butter or caramel, add the onion,  It should be chopped and ready to go before you start the roux.  Since the amount of roux is small, it will cook quickly.
If you're using sausage, add it now too.

Once the onions soften, add the beans and cook, stirring, until they get tender. 

Add enough water to cover the beans.  Season with salt and pepper.
 

Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer.

Cook until the beans are very tender and the gravy becomes thick...
you know, til it looks right.

This should take about an hour.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.  If you like, add a few pinches of sugar. 
Serve 'em up, but not over rice.  Rich & creamy, just like buddah!

Here a pot with sausage if you can't stand the thought of beans with out pork.

linking with 

Butter Beans
from Ms. enPlace
3-4 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp flour
1 small onion, chopped
about 1 pound fresh or frozen butter beans (small lima beans)
salt and pepper, to taste
water to cover the beans
few pinches of sugar, optional

Thaw the butter beans if using frozen.

Start by heating the oil. Sprinkle in the flour and make a caramel or peanut butter colored roux, stirring constantly. This small amount of oil and flour will cook quickly.

Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring until tender. Add the butter beans to the pot and cook, stirring, until softened.

Add enough water to cover the beans and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Simmer until the beans are very soft and the gravy is reduced and thick. Before serving, taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed. A few pinches of sugar can also be added.

Other ideas:
-Smoked sausage can be added with the onions
-If you like extra kick, Tony’s Creole seasoning and/or cayenne pepper can also be used