Mardi Gras!!

Today in cities and towns all over the world, Mardi Gras will be celebrated. Mardi Croix on St. Croix was Saturday. but I bet people are still celebrating and/or recouping today with the fortunately placed Sunday, then President's Day as a gapper...it's a great party which has expanded hugely since I went to the first one in 2002. Thanks for the t-shirt, Lia!

Mardi Croix 2010, Michael Justis bikin' it - photo credit unknown

One of the best drinks I know that has become associated with the New Orleans party, one of the best well known and oldest in the US, is a mojito.

The best mojito to my way of thinking, is a frozen mojito. And the best frozen mojito is from Mamacita's (it took me awhile, but I got us back to Culebra...you have to have faith, grasshopper!) I've watched this being made quite a few times and never really pay attention, except for the final delicious result - to me, this is NOTHING like a regular mojito, which I find sort of boring...or maybe I just like the 7-11 sort of Slurpee thing going on with the frozen one...slurpees for grown ups!.

 So I'll check for sure but this looks sort of close to the recipe: remember, this is for one, a good full bunch of mint is going to be needed and the color should be deep, beauteous green - if it isn't, add more mint!! I can't find a photo online even close to the color - they are mostly a collection of wimpy looking lemonade type colors, rather than the liquid mintiness of my favorite. These are dangerous... just so you know.

Frozen Mojito
(recipe from PBJ)
3 ounces light rum
5-10 fresh mint leaves
1 ounce lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
ice cubes*
1 ounce club soda
Place rum, mint leaves and lime juice in a mixing glass and muddle (bruise the mint leaves to allow them to release their oils). Strain the mixture; place the liquid into the blender and discard the muddled mint leaves. Add the sugar and enough ice to cover the contents of the blender. Blend until smooth. Add club soda and pulse several times to blend. Pour into a serving glass and garnish with mint sprig.
*Let your ice stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to let is melt just a little. This will help it to break down better in your blender.
Yield: 1 mojito

And what to eat to stay in the spirit of the day? How about gumbo??? This recipe is taken from the Farmer's Almanac:

REAL LOUISIANA GUMBO
4 servings

• 1 gallon oyster water
• 1 cup roux (equal parts flour and oil)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 5 pounds hen, cut into large pieces
• 2 pounds andouille (smoked sausage made with pork and garlic), cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 gallon oysters
• 2 teaspoons gumbo file (or to taste)
• salt and pepper

In a large pot, bring the oyster water to a boil. Dissolve the roux in the boiling water, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the onion, celery, pepper, and parsley. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the hen (hen is used because the tougher meat stands up better than chicken to the long cooking time) and andouille. Simmer for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Add the oysters and boil for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the gumbo file and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.

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I have no idea what's going on in town for Mardi Gras tonight but there is never too far to reach an excuse for a party around here, so I'd bet a bar crawl could be in order - before the seriousness of Lent kicks in, if you are so inclined (which I am not...'giving up' is not in my vocabulary).

However you celebrate, have a great Mardi Gras!

More cheating, thank you

This is from the Old Farmer's Almanac, since the Old Farmer is now online! Old dog, new tricks.

June 21, 2009

Summer Solstice

The summer solstice heralds the beginning of summer. The timing of the solstice depends on when the Sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator. This occurs annually on June 20 or June 21 in North America, depending on your time zone. The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice). In temperate regions, we notice that the Sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays strike Earth at a more direct angle, causing the efficient warming we call summer. In the winter, just the opposite occurs: The Sun is at its southernmost point and is low in the sky. Its rays hit the Northern Hemisphere at an oblique angle, creating the feeble winter sunlight.

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Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, England

Celebration of the summer solstice at Stonehenge has been going on from the shadows of history to the present day. I wish I could have been there a hundred years ago....

However you celebrate the longest day of the year (two people I know will be celebrating an anniversary...where's my sashimi???), enjoy being outside somewhere. Set aside your troubles, make a picnic, even if it's pb & j and lemonade, find a beautiful place to spend a few hours. This is a glorious planet we live on, especially if you turn off the television and computer to go out and enjoy it.

Sunrise on Culebra will be at 5:24 Sunday morning, just in case you want to have a breakfast picnic someplace to truly get in spirit with the day. I'm big on breakfast burritos or quiches or frittatas for breakfast picnics. You can add all of your favorite eggy/bacon/sausage things, pack it in a covered container, lay on a few folded towels to keep things warm and it's yum on the beach (or the field, or your yard). A thermos of coffee or tea and wa la. Summer Solstice on a plate.

AND DON'T FORGET!!! SUNDAY IS ALSO FATHER'S DAY!!!

(also from the Farmer's Almanac)

Father's Day

Like Mother's Day, Father's Day has a modern origin. The idea came to Mrs. John Dodd as she sat listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1910. Her father, William Smart, had raised his children alone on his Washington farm after his wife died giving birth to their sixth child. Mrs. Dodd proposed to the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA that they celebrate a "father's day" on June 5, her father's birthday. The idea received strong support, but the good ministers of Spokane asked that the day be changed to give them extra time to prepare sermons on the unexplored subject of fathers. The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington, and soon other towns had their own celebrations. In spite of widespread support, Father's Day did not become a permanent national holiday until 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed a law declaring that it be celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June.