Happy Anniversary to My City and me

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:51:37 -0500

Today is my tenth anniversary of moving to New Orleans. It was sweltering and sunny the day I arrived in 1999, while today was rainy and gray. A good day for gumbo, which is what I ate for dinner in celebration. Having a newborn to tend to has thus far prohibited me from relishing in the making of a roux. In fact, it prohibits me from cooking much at all unless you count recipes from the 30 Minutes and Under genre.

Tibo isn’t a restaurant baby, either. We’ve braved po-boys and boiled seafood and Dooky Chase’s for lunch, and survived, but he’s not the kind of kid who sleeps through every outing. He’s nosy. Wants to be involved. And his version of involvement usually means crying. Loudly.

All of which is to explain why I celebrated by boiling a frozen bag of Chef John Folse’s chicken and sausage gumbo in a water bath on my stovetop. Not exactly the gumbo I wanted, but it was gumbo and it marked the occasion just finely.

What I Grew During My Break

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:36:52 -0500

At least I have a good excuse for my nine-month absence. His name is Roahen Tibo de Schutter, and he was born on August 10. For now we call him Tibo, which is short for Petit Bosselaar, Bosselaar being my mother-in-law’s maiden name. The Cajuns and Creoles of Louisiana do this: add “ti” to a name to make it a diminutive. We are neither Cajun nor Creole, though I’ll never stop pretending.

I had a killer pregnancy. Many times I considered posting -- my severe weight loss in the beginning, then my aversion to all things delicious, then my cravings for fast-food burgers, then my sixty-pound weight gain. But I didn’t want this to turn into a pregnancy blog. Also, I’m superstitious, and I feared that announcing my pregnancy to the world would end it.

I am in full-powered mom mode, tending 24/7 to a spirited baby who, despite having been born on a Monday, doesn’t appreciate it when I eat red beans and rice. As I don’t want this to become a mommy blog either, I can’t promise how often I’ll post. But I’ll post.

Taking a Break

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:21:24 -0600

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I’m taking a little break from the blog -- a week or two -- in order to get over a bout of illness and get re-organized. See you on the other side.

Sara

Merry Merry!

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:31:36 -0600

I never fully caught the spirit this year, but that’s not such a bad thing. I’m happy and feel lucky and have been relying on everybody else’s baking talents and holiday tables. Matt is working overnight tonight, Christmas Eve, leaving me to eat jambon beurre and pickles (a treat!) and wrap some last-minute gifts. Tomorrow, we will be joining two New Orleans households for two separate Christmas feasts -- one at noontime and one for dinner. We miss our own families, but life is nevertheless grand. I am supplying the turkey for the earlier feast, which will mean gumbo this weekend.

Happy holidays to you and yours, whether you celebrate Christmas, kosher beignets, or simply a few days off.

Christmas Shopping 2008

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:23:49 -0600