I was born in New Orleans post WWII and I have always been a rebel of sorts, but not when it comes to food. I have been here in, what I refer to as Yankee Land, almost 2 decades. I've found ways to assuage my homesickness. One of the first ways was to "go out to eat" at a cooking class given by the Connecticut Cajun. Not because I needed lessons in cooking, but because of camaraderie of like minded people, we were instructed to bring "to go" containers so I had good food as well! (as I said, like going out to eat) What I'm attempting to do now is revisit my home by sharing my way of cooking. Most of the recipes I'll be sharing come from a cook book that belonged to mi Gran Mere written before I was even thought of. (a book very tattered and worn)
A bit of history I was told regarding New Orleans is this: Louisiana has been under 7 flags meaning ruled or controlled by. (some @ least twice) I believe that's how they came up w/seven. There were definitely two that primarily influenced the culture Spanish & French, French being the strongest & longest lasting. The derivation of the word Creole is not truly known. The best story I've heard comes from one of my history professors @ LSUNO (Louisina State University in New Orleans now called UNO) my college. I was told the word was derived from a mixture of words, more than likely from Spanish. That word's meaning was someone of European heritage born in the Western hemisphere. Cajun is short for Arcadian peoples who were driven from Nova Scotia during the French & Indian War. They settled in the southwestern portion of Louisiana. There was such a melting pot not only of food but languages as well, resulting in Creole and Cajun food and a patois of French. I myself mix French and Spanish languages as you can tell by the way I said my Grandmother. First Spanish mi then French Gran Mere.
