Author: Cindy
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Comfort Food Cook-a-Thon
I’ve been craving simple, home cooked food lately. I’m still paying for the eating excesses of the Christmas holidays, and the less than nutritious fare of parade parties is just around the corner. I devoted a dreary Sunday afternoon to restocking my freezer. I’m sure the gourmands are rolling their eyes right now. I’d love…
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Mardi Gras is on the Way
January 6 to most people is Epiphany, but in New Orleans it is Twelfth Night, the beginning of the Carnival season. We are going to be talking a lot about Mardi Gras in the next couple of weeks, so I wanted to give you some background. Although they are often used interchangeably, Carnival is a…
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Cabbage…lots of it!
Every fall I plant broccoli. It does quite well in pots on my patio – container gardening is a trade off in the city for a nicely landscaped yard. In New Orleans transplants are generally available in early October, with harvest right around Thanksgiving. I was a bit surprised to find transplants at a big…
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Christmas Scenes on the Avenue (St. Charles, that is)
I was walking the dog yesterday when I came across Santa Claus lying in the middle of St. Charles Avenue. This wasn’t a mall Santa with too many toddies after a stressful day of wishes, but a twenty foot tall fiberglass guy! He was accompanied by workers from a company that produces Mardi Gras parades…
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Christmas in the Country
My friends Jimmy and David have a fantastic second home an hour north of New Orleans in rural St. Tammany Parish. Over twenty years they have transformed a barren piece of land into an estate with a fantastic house, lake, gardens, a greenhouse, and a commercial nursery. The latest addition – just in time for…
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Ornaments, New Orleans Style
Decorating our Christmas tree is like a walk down memory lane. We phased out the shiny glass balls many years ago. Each of our ornaments is unique, and most have a story behind them. We have a sterling “Our First Christmas”, but what I really remember from that year is the cute ornaments that Shell…
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More Christmas Decorations
More Christmas Decorations You’ve seen Christi’s decorations, and now it’s my turn! I’m a fairly spontaneous decorator, but I’ve got a couple of guiding principles. First, I love fresh greenery. We had a tradition when I was little – “getting the pine”. We’d go out to the woods and my father would chop down a…
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Meanwhile . . . Back at the Ranch
Both my husband’s parents came from ranching families, and I realized early on that cattle were in his genes. They have passed on, but Ed inherited the ranch that has been in his father’s family since 1877. That’s how a city girl from New Orleans happens to be running cattle long distance in Atascosa County,…
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New Orleans Red Beans and Rice
It’s Monday and I was in the mood for red beans and rice. Just like my grandmother used to do, I put the beans on early so they could cook themselves while I worked. Except I was sitting in front of the computer all day rather than doing the laundry. Red beans and rice is…