Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Doucet. Boudreaux. Both 'good' French names; both brought to south Louisiana by the first displaced Acadians.  These are the names of my ancestors.  Never mind that I was adopted into this culture.  Forget that I was born and raised in Houston; South Louisiana is home.   

Louisiana is where we went to celebrate weddings and funerals; yes, celebrate.  You can barely tell the difference between the two events. There is music and dancing, laughing and crying, lots of hugging, big kisses and... FOOD.  When I was four years old I asked my Papa if we were at a wedding or a funeral. He smiled at me and said, "Well, if there's a man all dressed up and he's not breathing or moving... you can be sure it's a wedding!" 

Perhaps it's because the Cajuns endured so many hardships that they developed what we call 'cajun enh-juh-new-uh-tee". They also have the ability to make the good times so much sweeter.  All of life is to be loved, people are to be cherished, feet are for dancing and food is for sharin'!

New to living with Celiac Disease, I've already made my choice:   I'm clinging to my culture.  Since almost every Cajun recipe starts with, "first you make a roux", my food has had to face some Cajun ingenuity.  More than the flavor, I think the stubborn determination to make something delicious with what little was available is what gives Cajun food it's depth.  So with Feufollet singing "Prends Courage", I'm dancing my way into a gluten free Mardi Gras.

Gluten Free King Cake

Beautiful, isn't it?  Would you like the recipe?  Well, you can't have it.  This cake turned out more like short bread.  Tasty, but not very cake like.  It's probably not the recipe's fault; I made some on the fly changes to the ingredients.   But let's face it, how often are you going to make King Cake?  Once a year... maybe.  So instead, I would love to share the other gluten free food we had for Mardi Gras.  This is something you can make every Monday like the Cajuns do!

Red Beans and Rice

15 links of Aidelle's Chicken and Apple Sausage

1/2 Tbs. oil of choice

3 medium white onions, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

5 cans Central Market Organic Low Sodium Dark Red Kidney Beans

2-3 bay leaves

ground black pepper to taste

Brown or white rice (follow directions for the number of servings you want)

We love Aidell's Chicken and Apple sausage, but you can use any gluten free sausage of choice.  Slice sausage links on a diagonal about 1/4 of an inch thick.  Place them in the bottom of a large stock pot with oil on medium high heat.  Stir at first to coat all the sausage with oil, then allow to cook undisturbed so that the sausage can brown. 

This is what you want your sausage to look like on at least one side.  It will look slightly blistered but not black.  It will stick to the bottom a bit.  Don't be scared.  This dark sticky stuff is what will make your bean juice thick and will give it a deep flavor-- like you've made them with roux.  It's a delicate balance to getting the sausage to brown without burning.  If you see a lot of build up on the bottom of the pot, use tongs to scrap the bottom as you begin stir the sausages again.

I like to do my chopping before I brown the sausage.  Once the sausage is cooked, add in chopped onions and stir until almost wilted.  Then throw in the celery, bell pepper and garlic.  Stir a little bit more until all the veggies look tender.  Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any brown bits from the sausage. 

Onions

Bell Pepper (I wonder if thoses sticker are gluten free?)

Celery

Garlic

After the vegetables have softened, add in your kidney beans (do not drain).  I use the low sodium canned beans because I work for a dialysis clinic and we encourage everyone to watch their sodium intake.  I love HEB's Central Market Organics.  All the ingredients appear to be gluten free: organic kidney beans, water, sea salt.  I had no reaction to them but still placed a call into HEB for the definite answer.  I'll let you know what I hear.   

Once the beans are in the pot, add two or three bay leaves, grind black pepper until it's visible on the top of the beans. I made about ten turns on my grinder.  When the liquid begins to bubble, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for at least an hour, longer if you have it.  Periodically stir the beans and mash a few to the sides of the pot.  Then stir them back into the 'bean juice'.  This will also help to thicken the gravy. 

Cook your favorite rice to serve with the beans. 

The most import thing about Cajun food is that it is for sharing.  I don't add alot of spice to my food because I like to feed a crowd.  Make sure to have your favorite gluten free Cajun hot sauce near the pot of beans for people to doctor their bowl to their liking.  This fed about 14 people and one pregnant lady.    

Let the gluten free good times roll!

*If you want to make this in a slow cooker, be sure to crack the lid slightly so that some of the steam releases so the liquid will thicken as the beans cook.