Cajun Cooking Experiments

It seems we’re funny travelers…falling somewhere between feeling like we’re on vacation and resisting the urge to play a tourist. I feel like we’ve been so many places (some of which is already running together) and met so many people (some of whom I’m blanking on their names) and yet we haven’t done very much. We haven’t explored local scenes, delved into local cultures or really investigated our stops.

Thankfully, I also feel like that is changing.

We’re slowing down, not allowing some predetermined date to rush us along the road, taking more back routes and discovering new, amazing, beautiful or just plain fun things along the way. I suppose the first three and a half months have been about growing accustomed to the RV, the regular movement, the new rituals or climates or people in and out of our lives. And now, as we fall into a (albeit somewhat unrecognizable) routine, the country seems to be opening itself to us more…or we to it, truthfully.

While in Louisiana I was inspired (partially by the crawfish) to try my hand at more Cajun foods. Being on a budget means very little eating out for us, but Google is a good friend, and although I have nothing to compare my meals to and didn’t actually make the attempts until we had left Louisiana, I had fun all the same.

One thing I found I liked: Most Cajun recipes seemed to be gluten-free (someday I want to post a gluten-free update, but today is not that day). However, they also call for meats that are very hard to find sustainably raised. We made a couple compromises, of which my stomach regretted. Apparently, once you go grass-fed you can’t go back.

The two recipes I attempted and enjoyed: Crock Pot Jambalaya and Smoked Sausage something or other (minus the call for “processed cheese” and with fresh, diced tomatoes from a “neighbor’s” garden instead of canned). Both were yummy, not spicy at all or even enough, easy to make and easy to clean up. But the Smoked Sausage concotion pictured above was my favorite – one skillet (not including the rice), simple ingredients, and (if I can find a healthy source of sausage) very likely to be made again.

Local, yummy, gluten-free…and best of all, new, experimental, and interesting. For Justin and me anyway. Zeb prefers mostly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches these days.