Columns

A request has been made that a concise short history of Louisiana and DeSoto Parish be made for reference when needed. A prominent Mansfield person wanted to be sure his grandchildren knew this information. The Louisiana Territory was a large area with New Orleans as a valuable port near the mouth of the Mississippi River. President Thomas Jefferson realized the need for the U.S. to own and control it for its western growth. He sent a representative to France to buy the N.O. area but Napoleon needed money badly to finance the wars the he was waging. He offered the entire La. Territory which composes about one third of the present U.S. for $15 million. Also the U.S. paid $5 million to U.S. citizens who held claims against France bringing the total to $20 million.

How to Host a Swap Meet

Is it a Swap Meet? Or a ‘Swap’ Meet? It just depends upon your perspective! Traditionally, a Swap Meet is a place where folks can swap one item for money or another item of equal value. But it can also mean something else – a ‘Swap Meet’ among friends! This is when friends gather together to ‘swap’ items they need.

To host a swap meet, the first step is to do a bit of homework. Consider the season and potential swaps. Then poll your friends to see which ones work best. For instance, a Seed Swap might be held in January. Once your poll is completed, choose the top three favorites and work on those.

Arlington Cemetery has been in the news for the past few months without many of us knowing the tremendous history involved. As Paul Harvey said, “Here’s the rest of the story.”

George Washington’s adopted son — his wife Martha’s only son — bought the land know as Arlington in 1778 to be closer to his mother at their beloved Mount Vernon home. General Washington advised him on the purchase in correspondence from his winter camp at Valley Forge. However, three years later her son contracted fever at Yorktown and died leaving a sixmonth- old son. George and Martha raised the six month of boy whose name was George Washington Parke-Custis and nicknamed “Wash”. Wash became of age and inherited the Arlington land his real father had purchased but his lifelong mission became to honor his adopted father.

A Very Old Cookbook

In the last few weeks I’ve been receiving Ms. Hope Calhoun’s collection of books delivered by her Niece, Cheryl Ryder Brightwell, from Cousin Tommy Calhoun AND it’s been a major undertaking. In the 24 boxes delivered I’ve been finding gardening books, bird and plant books, cookbooks and ,most importantly for the Museum, textbooks from the old Female College. Yes, actual text and reference books!

So far some interesting finds as I unpack are a 1924 book on Parliamentary Procedure, a set of “The Student’s Cyclopaedia” copyrighted 1893 most recently updated in 1919, volumes of the “Messages and Papers of the Presidents” with Volume II copyrighted in 1897 starting with James Madison … This is gonna be fun!

Spring is here and summer is very close!! Isn’t it good to be a true Southerner and enjoy tomatoes, watermelons and cantaloupes? Allow this writer to divert from history this one time to write about the above “vegetables” — especially watermelons and cantaloupes. Cucumbers are great but watermelons are more to my liking. This tasty “gourd” — yes it is in the gourd family — is good for much more than a summer picnic. Watermelon is 90% water and a great way to stay hydrated. It is an excellent healthy alternative to sugary drinks and is a good choice for people watching their weight. It’s full of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

Trout Battles — Meniere vs Almandine

What?! Noooo, it’s not a European title fight but a competition of two simple yet elegant French dishes. I’ve told about the famous (to me and my Daughter) New Orleans trip with my Mom in search of the perfect Trout Almandine dish from the great 4-star restaurants there. It took two columns to tell it all and I will gladly send you a copy if you’re interested but basically Sal Saia, the owner of Sal & Sam’s in Metairie, La., said that it was one of the simplest but easiest recipes to mess up. He insisted it should be the measuring stick of all really great restaurants. Soooo, we decided to try that at every one we visited. Of course 10-year-old Ashley was more interested in the different deserts but we all had a great and fun week.

Chef Hunter Lee

Let’s get shakin!!! One of my favorite cookbook promotional tours included Asheville, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah Georgia. It was an amazing adventure but over 2,400 miles round trip, it was a lot of driving and let me tell y’all it’s just as HOT up there as it is here.

South Carolina and Georgia are both well known for the Pineapple. It’s not just them, like a lot of symbols it’s a southern thing!

“The Pineapple” is the southern symbol for hospitality and we all know you won’t find better down-home hospitality than right here in the south.

There are stories of how this came to be and why, a lot of them are just myth and a lot have been lost in history and time.

Peaches Foster

“A name (…), as I might name my cat,” says Sam Sifton who is the Editor of the NYT Cooking section and a pretty funny guy when he was writing about a new dessert he created. It is what he calls a no recipe recipe and sounds real good, in fact I just might try it this weekend.

Most of you know I love to cook and to try new recipes but just am not good at pastry or gravy or desserts. However, Sam’s sounded so simple that I thought I would share it with you and give it a try, too. He starts his column by stating, “I like canned peaches, and if that bums you out, I don’t know what to tell you.” He goes on to talk about mayonnaise sandwiches and other good things that aren’t good for you but ends with, “These are all defensible positions – but I get it.”

I love standing in my utility room, watching life through my screen door. In the midst of a hectic day, this mini break gives me a sense of peace and calms my spirit. The other day, I realized that not only was I getting a few moments of calm, but I was also getting something else. Hope.

It’s from that vantage I can see the smiling faces of visitors who have come to enjoy a few moments of peace in their otherwise hectic lives. It’s where I often stand to watch children as they laugh and giggle while feeding the cows Range Cubes, and grimacing while slinging cow slobber off their hands, only to turn to the nearby adult and beg, ‘give me more! I want to do it again!’

One of my first red flags when I visited Louisiana was this obsession with crawfish. Remember, I had a lot of concerns and rouge-colored flags about moving away from my beloved Texas. The promise of twenty-four-hour casinos and Mike the Tiger didn’t entice me at all. However, I’ve put my hesitations aside and learned to embrace my adopted state. But let’s talk crawfish.

Louisiana’s love of crawfish dates back to native Americans and early European settlers. But why? The little creatures feast and frolic among the swamps and marshes down south. Hmmm, their habitat does nothing to perk up my taste buds.