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My closest and dearest friend moved to New York City in 2007 (wow, I cannot believe it has been that long) and tonight on the phone we were reminissing about South Louisiana and the culture that exists in that area. It took me leaving to appreciate the culture and way of life there, but that being said - I don't have a desire to move back. Visiting is fine, but I don't want to go back.
This past Saturday I gave a presentation for my Public Speaking class and I gave them a crash course in a signature South Louisiana dish, Jambalaya. My recipe was passed down to me from my Dad and is a Cajun dish. I particularly like this dish because it just relies on the purity of the ingredients, no added broth, etc. And it isn't watery like a lot of jambalaya recipes. Here it is:
CAJUN JAMBALAYA
1 – Green Bell Pepper
2 – Cloves Garlic
1 – Stalk Celery
1 – Sweet Onion
1 – Tablespoon Butter
2 – pounds chicken
2 – Pounds Sausage
3 – Cups Rice
3 ½ - Tbsp Louisiana Hot Sauce
3 ½ - Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
Tony Cachere’s, Black Pepper & Salt
¼ - Cup Green Onions
Directions:
- Chop up bell pepper, garlic, celery and onionwith butter, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken and sausage. Cook through.
- Add rice and 4 cups water. Stir.
- Add Louisiana Hot Sauce & Worcestershire. Add Pepper & Salt to taste. Stir.
- Cook until done (about 45 minutes – 1 hour), green onions when there is approximately 20 minutes remaining.
**Cook Covered!**
Three years ago when my husband brought me to this armpit Midwest state I made him *promise* to bring me back to Virginia. Gosh darnit, he tried. Half the reason I probably haven't liked it here is because I came here with the mentality that it was gonna be cow pasture America (not that it isn't). But, in reality it does have a lot to offer. Housing is affordable, lots of safe communities to raise a family, simple pleasures. Not. For. Me. I've always been a city girl. Particularly, an East coast gal. I love it. I loved Virginia. I loved the history. Colonial America and all of its beauty was captivating to me. When I met my husband my plan was to stay in Virginia two more years and then high tail it to Northern California and bask in the perfect Sonoma County wine country. If heaven had a place on Earth, it would be there for me. Well obviously all of that went out the window. I came to IL/MO and this has been home. I have settled into every day life, working, school, family, etc. I have been bored for three years and for a while there when we first arrived, dare I say resentful. Thank God I have a truly wonderful guy by my side. He is everything I am not. Unconditional, affectionate, grounded, passionate, capable of expressing his thoughts in actions and words. I am more of a firecracker. He is the ying to my yang, it works.
Anyway, so it came time for him to pick orders... Choices: Ship in Japan, Ship in PoDunk, Bahrain, Bahrain, Bahrain. Ugh. So he elected to go to Bahrain for a year because it was his best option. Then he elected to apply for a job in Virginia that he is qualified for. So he set it up so we would end up in Virginia. I was excited. Thrilled even. I hadn't had enough of Virginia and wanted to go back. PERFECT! Well then Big Navy decided that's not where they wanted him to go, they suggested he apply for this other job in NC instead. Meanwhile, if that fell through his orders to Bahrain were locked. Ok. I can deal with that.
Today I got a call from my husband at work that someone at HIS command decided they didn't want him to go to NC. So they denied the package. And then at that point Big Navy decided they didn't need him in Bahrain anymore, they needed him on a ship... in San Diego. WHAT!? Now, I have never been to San Diego. I adore everything about northern California, but have never been to the southern part. I was shocked. I was scared for him. I knew he did not want to go to a ship, and I didn't think we could even get to San Diego since technically we are considered East Coast sailors. Whatever. So the ship just got commissioned two years ago and it is a hybrid so the Navy is sending it all across creation. That means they deploy - a lot. They are out now and have been since September. I think they go out 6-9 months a year. We will manage.
On the upside, we get to live near the beach! Annika will be a California girl. We can go to the beach daily, and I hear the weather is just about perfect all year round. I have begun to purge our household items since we will have to downsize when we move. Exciting things happening!
