Cajun recipes

My Momma sent me a link to a site that publishes Cajun recipes. The family is from New Iberia, LA. For those of you familiar with Longfellow's poem Evangeline, New Iberia in the very heart of Cajun country. It sits between Lafayette and St. Martinville, where the Evangeline Oak is located.

My grandmother's family was from New Iberia and Momma tells me that my grandmother was related to the folks who published this website, on the Dugas side of the family.

Here's just a little blurb from the introduction.

When using a recipe, look closely at the ingredients. If you see something in the ingredients that you and your family don't like or can't use then try to think of a substitute. The use of imagination, not being afraid of trying something new or different, and willingness to experiment is how to really enjoy food. We each have different taste buds, use them and your imagination to come up with something that is suitable for you. Make a meal "Your Meal".

I agree. There are very few Cajun recipes that haven't been modified, changed, adapted to fit the situation and the cook.

In many cases, Cajun food is "expandable". A meal that might comfortably feed six might have to be expanded to feed 10, if company showed up. In most cases, you can fix another pot of rice and feed a lot more people. Cajun food is folk food, using what is locally, seasonally available. When you're tasked with feeding a family and there isn't a grocery store just up the street, you've got to know how to stretch a food dollar and use what is in the pantry or growing in the yard.

I've bookmarked it for my use and if you're interested in authentic Cajun food, you might to do the same.