Columns

B a j a Shrimp vs. Shrimp Scampi

I picked up a good looking seasoning packet for Baja Shrimp at the Grocery. Thinking of making these on Friday night I thawed out one of my quart baggies of 12/16 ct. gulf shrimp. I noticed that the box preparations called for a pound of 16 ct. but I figured I was close with the amount I had so I used the entire packet of the seasoning mix ... big mistake. Even Susan with her COVID numbed senses of taste and smell thought they were too strong - soooo I decided to do a little research to see if I could improve on this new dish.

The early settlers of this area were a very hardy group - primarily those from the Carolinas and Georgia with exceptions of the St. Denis group along the Bayou Pierre composed of Spanish and French. Today’s article is going to discuss the Anglo-Saxon Group, which settled the northern half of the parish.

The first settlers came to the area primarily by covered wagons with the cows tied behind the wagons and the boys driving the hogs behind the cows. Normally it would be thought that driving hogs would be impossible but history tells us that hogs soon learned to follow behind the wagons and cows without trouble. Sometimes, however, it was necessary for the older boys to go back behind in the event of the pigs getting tired and wanting to wallow around in a mud hole.

One of my chicks has flown the nest.

Two weeks ago, we moved our oldest son Reece into his dorm at LSU. He’s studying Economics and Philosophy in the Ogden Honors College with dreams of becoming a lawyer and a professor.

In the months leading up to his move-in day, I tried to soak in the sound of his footsteps booming down the wooden stairs, the way he played Grateful Dead’s “Brown-Eyed Women” beautifully by-ear on the piano in our living room, and his casual, deep-voiced “Love y’all” when he was leaving to go hang out with friends.

I made the mistake of listening to Katrina Kenison’s “The Gift of an Ordinary Day” on YouTube.

Our foyer turned into an Amazon warehouse full of dorm-room musthaves.

Even so, when the morning came to drive to Baton Rouge, I wasn’t emotional, just hyper-aware that “the day had come.”

We spent six hours moving him into a dorm that made my first dorm seem like Angola.

I was one of the least likely people to change my mind from anti-COVID vaccine to pro-vaccine.

Then this summer, several healthy people I know who are close to my age got the Delta variant and ended up in the ICU. One was put on a ventilator and given little hope. Two suffered severely at home, making two panicked visits to the ER. And one passed away.

All of this was increasingly troubling and sobering, so I went to Walgreens one day and got my first Pfizer vaccine.

Sadly, and in the worst timing ever, I was exposed to COVID only one day after the first vaccine, so there was no time for the shot to work in my favor.

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You may get a sense of Deja Vu with the title and foods involved but I stumbled on a Mongolian dish with the marinade and ingredients from two of my last few columns, 5/17 Bulgogi Gui and 7/07 Eggplant cubed. Both recipes were very good as this promises to be.

While Bulgogi Gui is Mongolian for Hot Meat Bulgogi Khash is Hot Eggplant. I’ve read where eggplant has been used AND, like I mentioned in an earlier column, Susan has been over whelmed with her slender white eggplants. I discovered that many eggplant recipes ask you to “sweat” the slices by sprinkling salt on them while they are freshly peeled and in a colander. This supposedly gets any bitterness out of the eggplant. Although I’ve never noticed any bitterness I thought I tried sweating these slices out.

One of my blogging friends recently published a new book. When asked if I would review it for him, in exchange for a copy, I jumped at the chance. Not only is it a subject I am very interested in, but I also know Marc is an avid herb gardener and knows his stuff.

Herb Gardening for Beginners: A simple Guide to Growing & Using Culinary and Medicinal Herbs at Home turned out even better than I expected. Marc takes you by the hand and starts at the very beginning.

In Chapter One Marc discusses the benefits of growing herbs, both the culinary and medicinal purposes for them, as well as tools you will need for the various steps (starting from seed, maintenance and harvest, and drying and storage). In Chapter Two he walks you through different styles of herb gardens, from a simple window sill variety to an inground garden.

While serving as First Vice-President of the North Louisiana Historical Society on April 4, 1964 this writer submitted the following article on the Ole Log Courthouse Bell. This article slightly condenses and updates that original.

Hardly had DeSoto Parish been organized when the Police Jury saw the need for a bell to summon people into court. In 1843 a bell was ordered from Philadelphia to be placed in front of the newly constructed log courthouse at the corner of Washington Ave. and Franklin St. The courthouse square was left vacant because a larger Courthouse would be needed in the near future. The Bell did service for many years and if it could speak it would reveal the history of DeSoto Parish. It would tell of the trials, debates and elections that became history here.

Gumbo Latitudes

My friend, Robbo Davidson, and I were talking the other day about foods that we liked as kids but feel guilty about eating now. He and his wife, Linda, are famous for their annual “Fried Baloney Cookout” each year so we both agreed on plain ole baloney sandwiches. But other favorites were thrown out such as Vienna Sausages, Potted Meat, & Chef Boyardee canned spaghetti. I volunteered that on a cold wet winter night I still like a steaming bowl of Campbell’s Bean and Bacon Soup. Robbo smiled and said he still likes their Chicken Gumbo, which is more like spicy chicken and rice soup than gumbo. I’m sure you have some ole favorites, too and if I can get enough of you to respond I may can devote a whole column to these guilty pleasures.

Embracing the Handmade Life

Creating handmade items is more than just working with your hands. It is also a cerebral exercise. If I see something I like, I study the item to see how it is made, and then determine if I can make it myself. The Country Boy and I do the same thing with food. If we taste it and like it, we study it to see if it can be recreated in our own kitchen.

There are so many reasons why you should embrace the handmade life, but to narrow it down, here are three of the main ones.

One of a Kind - The way YOU make something is going to be completely different than the way someone else does. And if you are comparing your handmade items to store-bought – don’t. Items from the stores are now mass manufactured, and it seems as if the materials used are cheaply made.

This writer never tires of the early history of Mansfield. As new bits of information are uncovered and additional information comes to mind from speaking with older citizens the urge is to record for future generations to enjoy. The following article is primarily information from Mrs. F. A. Leaming from Philadelphia and Mrs. Eliee Earl Sheppard from Mississippi. These two ladies were very intelligent but were from very different backgrounds and cultures. Both came here as staff members for the Mansfield Female College.