Ever wondered how to season a black pot or how to treat a bee sting? Maw-Maw is here to help! Maw-maw has years of
experience as a master cook and as a healer and would love to hear from you. Click here to ask Maw-Maw a question.
We will publish your question and the answer for everyone to read.
Question #1
When I clicked on your sight to see where you all lived (because you were so using the Cajun name). None of you were still here. It made me sad...... - Anonymous
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Question #2
Is there anywhere that I could import "crawfish" (either dead or alive) to Canada? My son recently brought me some from Texas and they were excellent. I thought Loisianna would be exceptional! There is no place in my area (either Hamilton or Toronto) that I can get anything other than frozen tailmeat. - Anonymous
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Question #3
Where's the best place to buy boudin? - C. Boudreaux
Question #4
Do you have a webpage for the Kaplan Herald where we can go in and read your newspaper and check obits and check to see what is happening in your town. - Anna
Question #5
Tell me please, as urgently what is the right pronunciation of Cajun.(kadzhah,keidzhan..)I need to translate it in written Ukrainian for the ads of soon opening Cajun spiced restaurant AcadiA in Kyiv, Ukraine. Merci beaucoup! - Eero Talvitie
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Question #6
Please let me know how MSG there is in one chicken and bullin cube. Because I don't want to get too much. - Joseph
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Question #7
I love your site! I think its great! I have lived in southern Lafourche parish all of my life and I have NEVER heard of a goo fish! What is that? - L. France
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Question #8
I'm from California and have a question about Roux! I usually start by doing the flour and oil thing...but it turns out brown...not red like my cajun-cousins prepare it? Which is considerd truly cajun? - Joy
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Question #9
I live in San Diego CA. Is there a place where I can order "real" cajun-style sauage? And what about crawfish? I see them every now and then in our neighborhood store but where can I buy a like a bunch of them? Thank you! - Joy
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Question #10
My girlfriend got stung by a bee. I hear there is a cajun remedy for it. Is this true? - C. LeMaire
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Question #11
My friend's mom's gravy comes out darker than mine. What's her secret? - M. David
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Question #12
Help! My gravy (in rice and gravy) is too thin. How do I fix this? - T. Landry
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Question #13
How do I season a black pot? - D. Zee
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Question #14
I love putting filé in my gumbo. Is it true that sassafras leaves cause cancer? - J. Herpin
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Question #15
One of the pepper jelly recipes requires "certo". What is certo? - Anonymous
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| Questions and Answers |
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Q. When I clicked on your sight to see where you all lived (because you were so using the Cajun name). None of you were still here. It made me sad...... - Anonymous
A. We are so using the Cajun names because we are Cajun! You can take the Cajun out of Louisiana but you can't take Louisiana out of the Cajun. My roots as a Cajun woman take me all the way back to picking peppers on my father truck farm in Erath and bringing them to Trappey's in New Iberia. My children were all born and raised in Kaplan and we did a lot of crabbing many many times in Rutherford and Holly Beach; which sadly are both gone now..
Sometimes life takes us away from our roots but we as cajuns stay connected. The website is a way to keep us connected to our roots. One of the reason the website was started was we found being away from Cajun country the Cajun food and culture was misrepresented
We found our website is letting people share the traditional classic Cajun recipes and some newer styles of Cajun. Also my daughter wanted to preserve the older more classic recipes as she was afraid that art of cooking would be forgotten as many recipes were not being written down. I am proud that she is so proud of her heritage that she is using her internet skills to share our culture with the world.
All of our families rode thru Rita and many of my friends thru Katrina. Many of our family members and siblings lost ALL they had with Rita. We are happy that no lives were lost with Rita but of course we had lots of property damage. We are a strong people as you know and are rebuilding but my sister , nephew and friiends are still displaced from Rita. Because of the situation, many people came to our website to get news of the damage in our area.
And as you know when a Cajun drinks the water, he always has to come back for more.We are back!!! My husband and I recently purchased a home in Crowley, La.. So maybe with that being said I have made your day a little brighter. And that perhaps you might share a recipe or two from your families collection to represent what my daughter, her friend and myself want to promote on the website.....that we are Cajuns and mighty proud of it!! God Bless and always....................
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Q. Is there anywhere that I could import "crawfish" (either dead or alive) to Canada? My son recently brought me some from Texas and they were excellent. I thought Loisianna would be exceptional! There is no place in my area (either Hamilton or Toronto) that I can get anything other than frozen tailmeat. - Anonymous
A. Our favorite crawfish merchant is CajunCrawfish.com. We had such a great experience with them, that we wrote an article about it which can be found here.
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Q. Where's the best place to buy boudin? - C. Boudreaux
A. BoudinLink.com is a wonderfully informative website that ranks and reviews the best places to buy boudin in Acadiana. Check it out!
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Q. Do you have a webpage for the Kaplan Herald where we can go in and read your newspaper and check obits and check to see what is happening in your town. - Anna
A. Sorry, I don't think the Kaplan Herald is online. For more information, you can email herald@kaplantel.net. Alternatively, you can read the obits at the TheAdvertiser.com (the old Daily Advertiser). It has all the area deaths. Two weeks ago I found out about a friend of mine that had died. It does put area news if they think it is of value. I use it all the time.
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Q. Tell me please, as urgently what is the right pronunciation of Cajun.(kadzhah,keidzhan..)I need to translate it in written Ukrainian for the ads of soon opening Cajun spiced restaurant AcadiA in Kyiv, Ukraine. Merci beaucoup! - Eero Talvitie
A. Eero, the correct pronunciation of Cajun is "kay-jhun". You can listen to someone saying Cajun at the Marriam-Webster website. Click here to load up the webpage. Once it has loaded, click on the little speaker icon to listen. As a fun FYI, Dictionary.com's defintion of Cajun is stated asA member of a group of people in southern Louisiana descended from French colonists exiled from Acadia in the 18th century.
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Q. Please let me know how MSG there is in one chicken and bullin cube. Because I don't want to get too much. - Joseph
A. Thank you for asking such an interesting question and visiting. When I first read your question, I thought, no way is there any MSG in the product. As I have found it, MSG varies from product
to product. For example Wylers Chicken Granules contain MSG and Wylers Chicken Shakers does not. To say how much MSG is in the product or any
product, I do not know. I have e-mailed the company's website but have not received an answer. If I do I will indeed let you know. Meanwhile, you can read more about MSG here.
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Q. I love your site! I think its great! I have lived in southern Lafourche parish all of my life and I have NEVER heard of a goo fish! What is that? - L. France
A. The goo fish is the nickname for a freshwater drum; known as a gaspergou or sheepshead? In S LA, most people use the term "sheepshead" to describe a saltwater drum with big teeth and striped sides. The freshwater drum fish is
a gaspergou. Farther up the Mississippi, the two names are interchangable, but they're usually referring to two distinct fishes. And you definitely don't catch them in the same places (fresh vs salt/brackish water).
I think the saltwater version is the superior fish, tastewise. They're all related to buffalofish, carp, and croaker, too. All make peculiar thrumming/drumming/thumping noises, hence the name drum.
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Q. I'm from California and have a question about Roux! I usually start by doing the flour and oil thing...but it turns out brown...not red like my cajun-cousins prepare it? Which is considerd truly cajun? - Joy
A. Note to non-Cajuns: Traditional Cajun gumbo is not red or tomato-based! The tomato based roux is considered Creole or as some say Cajun Creole . The populace that make this type of roux live more South from Lafayette towards New Orleans. The basis of real Cajun roux is indeed brown. A good roux is the color of an old copper penny. I actually put up my mighty brown Roux recipe on the website. You can find it here. We do have Cajun recipes that add tomatoes to the roux and one of the uses is to make our ever famous crab , shrimp or turtle sauce picante'.
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Q. I live in San Diego CA. Is there a place where I can order "real" cajun-style sauage? And what about crawfish? I see them every now and then in our neighborhood store but where can I buy a like a bunch of them? Thank you! - Joy
A. There is a place called Mardi Gras found in Point Loma (3185 Midway Dr # E ; Phone:(619)223-5501) that I shop at when I go to see my relocated family in San Diego. Its a bit expensive, but you will probably find what you need. Also, you will find that alot of authentic Chinese grocers will have just about any type of seafood you need. From frog legs to crawfish to crab meat, you can find all of this at great prices. Try Ranch Market 99 on Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
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Q. My girlfriend got stung by a bee. I hear there is a cajun remedy for it. Is this true? - C. LeMaire
A. Yes! Put some tabacco from an unsmoked cigarette into your mouth. Sop it up real nice and then place the ball firmly on the bee sting. Let it sit there. This will even stop allergic reactions for people who are moderately allergic to bee stings! Meat tenderizer also works well (for bee stings AND jelly fish stings!)
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Q. My friend's mom's gravy comes out darker than mine. What's her secret? - M. David
A. To make a pretty and dark gravy, I do one of two things. In a hot pot with a little oil, I sprinkle a little sugar and melt it. You add your meat and make sure to brown it well on all sides. Watch not to burn when browning. Lower the heat and cover for a while. This will form your gravy drippings. I then add enough water to cover my meat. Cover again with the lid, cook down and viola perfect gravy. Depending on the meat, it may sometimes needs a little boost at end. I drain the gravy through a drainer and return the gravy to the pot. I then add a little margarine and whisk away. This thickens the gravy nicely and adds a little depth to it.
Also, you can use a little left over coffee to make a darker gravy, it works & has no after taste. My friend's mother cheats on this one. She buys a product called Classic Carmel Color (Burnt Sugar), a Sysco product. It is used for coloring soups and gravies. The meat is browned and then the Carmel Color is added. What is really neat about this product is that it takes so very little of it to have a wonderful gravy. The bottle seems to last forever. And like the above steps, there is no aftertaste at all.
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Q. Help! My gravy (in rice and gravy) is too thin. How do I fix this? - T. Landry
A. There are several ways to correct this and most of the items are usually found in your kitchen. 1. In a small cup add two tablespoon water and one tablespoon flour. Mix together. The consistency should be like a runny pudding therefore you may have to add more water or flour to the mixture. Pour into your gravy. The recipe can be doubled if needed.
2. Cornstarch will do the trick also. Follow the above recipe or the box directions.
3. Add some peeled potatoes to your gravy. That outta thicken it up and will give your gravy more flavor.
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Q. How do I season a black pot? - D. Zee
A. Initially, you want to cover it in oil and bake it at 250 to 350 for 3 hours. Keep it well oiled. Use the pot to cook a few meals and it gets more seasoned each time. Once the pot is seasoned, make sure you do not put it in the dishwasher, as it will destroy the seasoning. Also, don't soak a black pot in soapy water for an extended period of time. The pot may absorb the soapy taste and it may ruin a meal or two.
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Q. I love putting filé in my gumbo. Is it true that sassafras leaves cause cancer? - J. Herpin
A. The root bark of Sassafras contains a chemical called "safrole". File is made fromt he leaves of the sassafras and I'm not too sure if the leaves contain safrole, nevertheless, safrole in extremely high doses has been shown to cause cancer in labratory animals; however it is highly unlikely that anyone will use enough in their gumbo to cause any health risks.*
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Q. One of the pepper jelly recipes requires "certo". What is certo? - Anonymous
A. Certo is a liquid, pectin-based jelling agent that can be found at your local grocer.
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| * This statement not reviewed by the FDA. Please consult your physician for more information.
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