Sep 28, 2014 |
Last Tuesday we celebrated our recent successes, NOLA style. If you missed that post, you can read it here. I had a blast shopping for Mardi Gras decor, mixing up Hurricane mocktails, and feeding my guests with the great food provided by Zatarain’s.
Zatarains’ Care Package
How great was it of them to send me a box full of their rice mixes and seasonings? I chose to make the Brown Rice Jambalaya, Garden Vegetable Rice, and my salmon with the Blackened Seasonings mix.
What I love love love about Zatarain’s:
- They make everything easy. You can prepare foods per package instructions, or embellish with add-ins of your own. Either way, it’s a complete dish.
- Their dishes can be served on the side or as a main course. There’s no wrong way to Zat!
- Let’s be real: It’s authentic New Orleans food. I mean, the shipping label said, New Orleans. Now that just makes This Girl far too food happy.
- The flavors are more than your regular from-the-box fixings. They know how to package the seasonings, spices, and everything else that goes into a good Jambalaya.
- Their products work well on a time schedule. I had four food preparations going at the same time, and didn’t sweat a drop.
Zatarain’s Big Easy Garden Vegetable Brown Rice Mix
This pouch cooked start to finish in ninety seconds. Ninety seconds! I barely had time to grab the serving bowl before it was ready. Just knead the bag first, microwave for a minutes and a half, let stand one minute, then open and serve a hot, delicious mix of brown rice and vegetables. We ate this as a stand-alone side dish, but I’m already salivating for another pouch so I can toss in some andouille sausage and make it a meal.
Before I popped that in the microwave, however, I started the Brown Rice Jambalaya mix. I simply mixed water and the rice mix in my rice cooker. This one took 45 minutes according to package directions. I did not like smelling that goodness without being able to indulge, but it was worth the wait. Twenty minutes before it was ready, I sautéed a pound of garlic and herb shrimp on the stove-top, and when the rice mix was done I combined the two.
Next was the grilled blackened salmon. A light coating of melted butter on each side and a good sprinkling of seasonings was all it took to have a knock-your-socks-off main course. I love blackened anything, so I made sure to double-coat my filet.
With the abundance of food on the table, we had ourselves a small feast, Zatarain’s style.
NOLA Party, Zatarain’s Style
I served mayonnaise biscuits, another NOLA-based recipe from my friend, Lindsay Reine’s cookbook. A mixture of fruit juices gave my guests a Hurricane Mocktail, and dessert was this Easy King Cake recipe I found online.
Celebrate with King Cake
Are you salivating yet? Then check out the Zatarain’s website. It’s more than just rice product. I can’t wait to get my hands on their root beer concentrate, a frozen pasta dinner, breading mix, some Creole mustard, and even their olives.
There’s a great section to teach you how to speak like a New Orleanian. Words like lagniappe, etouffee, and maque choux.
Zatarain’s. How deliciously simple is that?
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
Five Years and a Party
My Real Italian Kitchen: Polenta and Sauce
My Interview with Ms. New Orleans 2014, Lindsay Reine
I am Defined. And I am a Mystery.
FIVE THINGS FRIDAY: The Big Easy
Sep 26, 2014 |
Five Things Friday at Frankly, My Dear…
Welcome back to Five Things Friday. My theme for this week is #DoingTheWriteThing. I can’t get tired of it. The more I promote writing, the more addicted to writing I become.
Every conversation I hear, every sight I see, every sense I experience is placed in my mental filing cabinet (and sometimes on paper) for probable later use.
Reading about writing excites me. I’m currently studying Flannery O’Connor’s “Mystery and Manners” and came across this gem, Number One on today’s Five Things Friday.
Flannery O’Connor’s “Mystery and Manners”
1. My writing mentor assigned me to read two books. Flannery O’Connor’s “Mystery and Manners” is the first. I’ve been struggling with how to write a gripping murder mystery while retaining my Christianity. He has been telling me for several months that this book would clear that up for me. Three chapters in, and I see he’s right. The book begins with an essay or two on peacocks, which has rekindled my love for these beautiful creatures. That’s another blog post. The next sections express the importance of Christians writing the grotesque with redemption. For if we write only “rainbow and unicorns” (my words) where is the challenge for others to change their world? Authenticity, not loftiness, is the better writing.
2. I finally released The Unemployment Cookbook for Kindle on Amazon. I spent quite a bit of last week rekeying the text into the proper format, then creating the hyperlinks in the Table of Contents. It’s satisfying to have another title in the stable, as well as a completed project. Novel writing takes years, so to have something to show for all my writing efforts makes me feel productive, but more than that, it gives me the chance to show you, my faithful readers, that your support isn’t in vain or cast aside.
The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition
3. All the profits from the Kindle cookbook are going into my #DoingTheWriteThing fundraiser. So even though I have a fundraiser page set up, I’m doing as much as I can to contribute my fair share. Each morning brings me one day closer to the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and other networking and learning opportunities, and one step closer to being the better writer I know I can be.
Go Fund Me: #DoingTheWriteThing
4. I reconnected with old friends last week. My missionary friend, Cynthia, returned home from Germany for a short visit. It’s been quite a few years since we were able to see each other, and I am grateful for the time we had. I was reminded that she, too, is a creative writer. She shared how she’s using her gift to minister to children, teens, and young women near Dresden, Germany.
Three Amigas: Corrie, Cynthia, Molly Jo
5. I’m promoting the High Desert Chapter of the California Writers Club. I’ve mentioned it before. It’s a wonderful, state-recognized organization for writers to get together. With over one hundred active members, we have formal critique groups, informal salons, monthly meetings with guest speakers, book fairs, networking and sales opportunities. For the last several months I’ve been the official Social Media Marketer. That’s just a fancy way of saying I get to be on social media for the club. I sit up front at the meetings, attend local author book signings, take photos, and share content. There’s something magical about being in a room of like-minded people, those who don’t just see the words on paper, but know how to put them there. I’m very honored to be an active member of this group.
Wordsmith Salon: Dwight, Tess, Richard, Lorelei, Molly Jo
Today’s bonus is for those of you who think I can’t stop writing.
My Favorite Quote From Isaac Asimov
You’re right.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
Five Years and a Party
FIVE THINGS FRIDAY: The Big Easy
“What’s the Word?” Wednesday: Aaron Gansky on Magic and Writing
New Meaning to Ghost Writing
I’ll Fly Away
Sep 23, 2014 |
Five years ago today I found what would become Bedford Manor. For over a year I’ve been writing NOLA, my murder mystery set in New Orleans.This week an article I wrote for my Writers Club was solicited to be featured in a larger, Southern California-wide publication. This morning, The Unemployment Cookbook was released for Kindle at Amazon. And tonight, one of my favorite shows, NCIS, has a spin-off series debut with NCIS: New Orleans.
Naturally, I have to celebrate.
Mardi Gras at Bedford Manor
With the great food that Zatarain’s sent me a few weeks ago (look for the product review post in a few days), I declared September 23 the official “NOLA Day” at Bedford Manor.
The local Dollar Tree had all I needed for decorations, including the requisite beads and masks. I was delighted to find that although Mardi Gras is half a year away, people choose to celebrate it often enough that supplies are always available.
Mardi Gras Decor
The menu was planned around my Zatarian’s Care Package and Ms. New Orleans 2014 Cookbook:
Mayonnaise Biscuits
Garden Vegetable Brown Rice
Jambalaya Brown Rice with Garlic and Herb Shrimp
Blackened Salmon
Sweet Tea
Hurricane Mocktail
Easy King Cake
After spending a few hours in the kitchen, it was fun to sit and enjoy good food with good company. The lagniappe (“lan-yap”, meaning “that little something extra”) is my Pandora station built around “St. James Infirmary” by Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Bedford Manor is five years old, and oh! the changes we’ve made! Paint and repaint, repair, clean, and clear. Add, subtract, embellish and all the wonderfulness that goes with being a home owner.
Paint and Repaint – Ceramic Beige
We’ve been through a lot, Bedford Manor and I. At times, I thought of selling. I couldn’t do the maintenance. I couldn’t afford the bills. But I always went to bed with a roof over my head, and when I’m anxious, coming through these doors makes things better. When I’m sick, it’s these walls that comfort me. These appliances that I cook on. This place that I write about. This is where the cats live and love.
Where else in the world could an off-shore hurricane over a hundred miles away bring me a great writing atmosphere?
Under the Influence of Hurricane Norbert
And of course, this is where my office is.
My “new” workspace ~ a real desk!
I realized a few months ago the mantra my now-defunct relationship taught me is applicable to every aspect of my life.
Don’t Leave. Period.
Staying is more than feeling like it. Staying is a commitment to doing the right thing. So no matter what struggles I have, I know I’m blessed with a big house and a small mortgage. When I need help, it’s here. Want to know something funny? It took me almost five years to fully commit to staying. To not find a reason to pack up, leave, walk away. It’s not that I have a propensity for instability. But prior to buying a house, life was full of uncertainties. Since I made the mental commitment to stay, no matter what, I’ve been more comfortable. I’ve met more neighbors. I’ve enjoyed more company.
I like my life.
Now that’s worth celebrating, isn’t it?
Celebrate with King Cake
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
My Interview with Ms. New Orleans 2014, Lindsay Reine
It’s Complicated, Part One: My Relationship
How Bedford Manor Got Its Name
