Hard to Celebrate

I was born 28 years ago today. My hometown was destroyed 6 years ago today.  I will forever share my birthday with the darkest day in St. Bernard’s recent history. 2005 was certainly a year of endings and new beginnings. I thought graduating undergrad and embarking on a journey at UNC law school would be the hallmarks of 2005. I wish I had been right.  Instead, I watched under a Carolina Blue sky as Hurricane Katrina stole our city. She mercilessly flooded our homes, killed our citizens, and took our sanity. She tried to take our spirits, and in some cases, she succeeded.  I never thought I’d say this, but I miss St. Bernard Parish, the way it was.

When people die, survivors try to focus on celebrating their life.  It’s hard to celebrate the life of a place. Quite frankly, it’s hard to celebrate anything at all.  My plan was to end this post with something uplifting, something encouraging, and a bit of hope, but I’m just not feeling it. Fuck you Katrina for stealing my birthday!

Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients:
1 lb peeled deveined shrimp
2 tbsp. olive oil
fresh rosemary to taste
creole seasoning to taste
1/8 c. fresh squeezed lime juice
corn tortillas
coleslaw mix
salsa

Instructions:

1.  Sautee shrimp in olive oil, rosemary, creole seasoning, and lime juice.

2.  Fill corn tortillas with shrimp, coleslaw mix, and salsa.

Shrimp Bruschetta

This one was inspired by my dear friend Meredith, who made a delicious avocado bruschetta during my visit to Shreveport.

Ingredients:

1 lb of peeled deveined shrimp
1 half avocado chopped up
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of sesame oil
1 baguette sliced
1 clove of fresh garlic
butter
creole seasoning to taste

Instructions:

1. Slice Baguette, spread with butter, and toast in oven.

2. Sautee shrimp in olive oil and creole seasoning.

3.  Chop shrimp and mix with chopped avocado, basil, cilantro, tomatoes and sesame oil.

4.  Remove bread from oven and rub fresh cut clove of garlic on bread while bread is still hot.

5.  Spoon shrimp mixture onto bread and serve.

Shrimp Spring Rolls

One of my customers at the Ruston Farmer's Market planted this idea in my head.  A nice and light Summertime treat.

Ingredients:
1 cup of rice noodles
1 cup of coleslaw mix
1 cup of sprouts
1/2 sliced avocado
1/2 cup of chopped scallions
1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint
1 lb of peeled deveined shrimp
3 tbs of sesame oil
Rice paper rounds
Peanut Sauce

Instructions:
1.  Boil shrimp in lightly salted water. Slice in half lengthwise and put aside.
2.  Boil rice noodles, strain and chop.
3.  Mix rice noodles, coleslaw mix, sprouts, scallions, basil, and mint in a bowl and toss with sesame oil.
4.  Soak rice paper rounds in warm water for 5 seconds, dab on paper towel to soak up excess water, and place on plate.
5.  Layer three shrimp on paper round, a slice of avocado, and filling.
6.  Roll the mixture into the paper round.
7.  Cut rolls in half and serve with peanut sauce

Lessons in Leftovers - Corn and Crab Pasta and Banana Bread Pudding

I recently made corn and crab soup and cantaloupe bread and used the leftovers to create one heck of a meal.

Entree:
I added a 1/2 cup of whipping cream to my leftover corn and crab soup to thicken it up a little and re-heated it on the stove.  I boiled some Rotini, added it to the soup, and viola . . .

Corn and Crab Pasta.

I guess I should mention that I sauteed shrimp and soft-shell crabs that I had hanging around in the freezer and added them to the pasta. Really, I just wanted to see if I could get shrimp, soft-shell crabs, and crab meat all into one dish . . . success!

Dessert:
I took my leftover cantaloupe bread out of the freezer, defrosted it, and cut it into cubes.  I soaked it in the following ingredients and let it sit in the fridge for about 45 minutes:

1 cup of whipping cream
2 cups skim milk
4 beaten eggs
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of vanilla
2 chopped bananas
2 tablespoons of melted butter

I baked it at 350 for 1 hour and . . .

Banana Bread Pudding!