Tag: <span>southern cooking</span>

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OK, It’s Okra Time!
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OK, It’s Okra Time!

It’s gooey, it’s slimy, it’s OKRA. It may get a bad rap, but around here, we know it as DELICIOUS.

The magical green vegetable originated in the African region we now know as Ethiopia and made its way through North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean before heading to the rest of the world. In Asia, the veggie is known as “lady’s fingers,” on the island of Macau it is called quilobo, while in North America, it’s Igbo name okwuru stuck to become today’s OKRA.

Okra came rather late to colonial America. Though introduced to the lower Americas during the

Cajun vs. Creole: What’s the Difference?
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Cajun vs. Creole: What’s the Difference?

First lesson when comparing Cajun and Creole cuisines? They are not the same.

Contrary to popular belief, Cajun and Creole cuisines are not the same thing. The names may have become synonymous and interchangeable with each other and Louisiana cooking–but true Southerners know what’s up.

Second lesson when comparing Cajun and Creole cuisines? Tomatoes make all the difference.

Creole cuisine uses tomatoes and true Cajun cookin’ does not. The end. No, I’m just kidding. But, really, how can you tell one gumbo from the other? The use of a red, round veggie. (Or is it a fruit…?) But the

Crawfish: The Lobster of the South
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Crawfish: The Lobster of the South

Fun fact: crawfish is not seafood. Tastes, looks, smells like seafood, but it’s not: it’s freshwater grub. It’s delicious and totally Southern.

Nothing screams Louisiana quite like crawfish. The fish resemble little lobsters and are colloquially called “mudbugs” because they live in the mud of freshwater bayous. (Sounds a little gross, right?) The meat is more tender than your average lobster and has a more distinct flavor than most other seafood.

Crawfish were first harvested by local Native Americans but then later became a key ingredient in Cajun cooking. In Cajun legend from the 1700s, lobsters in Louisiana spoke to