Category Archives: cooking

The Oregon Trail

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

I bribed the kids with promises of gumbo and movie marathons in place of a trip to a certain National Park with terrifying cliffs and curves. They extracted the additional promise of game night, which is how I ended up … Continue reading →

Posted in California, camping, Children, cooking, family, Generation Gap, gumbo, karma, Louisiana, parks & recreation, Writing | Tagged bribery, Cattle Call, dysentery, Eddy Arnold, El Paso, game night, gumbo, Huey P. Long, jeffrey epstein, King of the Road, Marty Robbins, National Parks, oregon trail, Sequoia, you have died of dysentery | Leave a comment

Shake Your Boudin

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

Shake, shake, shake… shake, shake, shake… shake your boudin! For the last 3 years, I’ve been dreaming about my imaginary food truck called Shake Your Boudin. It’s like Steak and Shake, but with the Cajun delicacy boudin. Ideally, I’d serve … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, gumbo, Louisiana, Writing | Tagged 5th ward, belmong louisiana, Billy's Boudin, boudin, flowing hills creamery, foodtruck, kleinpeter farms dairy, shake your boudin, steak and shake | Leave a comment

Endogeneity

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Laura Alford, PhD

Louisiana has a high percentage of people born in the state still living there. My question is this: do people stay because they can’t get filé, boudin & andouille sausage elsewhere OR does the lack of available cultural food stem … Continue reading →

Posted in California, cooking, gumbo, Louisiana, Monterey, Recipes, Writing | Tagged andouille, boudin, file, Grove Market, gumbo, Louisiana, Pacific Grove, tasso, Tony Chachere | 4 Comments

I’ve Had Worse

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Laura Alford, PhD

Is there more faint praise than I’ve Had Worse? It’s only Tuesday at 6:56 am, and that’s this week’s assessment– I’ve had worse. (Way, way, way worse.) Nothing bad’s happening, just an accumulation of adulting that sucks the joy from the … Continue reading →

Posted in California, cooking, Goal setting, Writing | Tagged grateful, grits, polenta, PSA polenta ain't grits | Leave a comment

No Grits, No Andouille, No Problem

Posted on June 30, 2019 by Laura Alford, PhD

TGFA (Thank God For Amazon). You can buy just about everything online. I’m ambivalent about it, though. I think Amazon is a great example of not only what is great about America (innovation, individualization, free market) but also what concerns … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, Louisiana, technology, Writing | Tagged air traffic controllers, Amazon, ambivalent, andouille, Charleston, cross-country, Emeril, emeril lagasse, grits, let them eat grits, Mason-Dixon line, Monterey, online marketplace., shrimp and grits, supply chain | Leave a comment

Instant Pot

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Laura Alford, PhD

After spending the fall semester in a literal and metaphorical cave, I emerged to see the Instapot recipes take a commanding lead over POTUS posts on my Facebook feed. You can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that Libertarians had not … Continue reading →

Posted in chocolate, cooking, Politics | Tagged best practices, Breakfast, fasting, food on the brain, gas burners, halloween candy, instant pot, instapot, intermittent fasting, libertarians, meal prep, real kitchen, sleeping, sneaux days, snow days, time machine | Leave a comment

Minor Epiphany at Albertson’s

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Laura Alford, PhD

I usually have my best ideas when I am driving, which is pretty inconvenient for recording my latest and greatest thoughts. Luckily, my husband still answers the phone when I call, will hash through my hare-brained schemes with me, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Continuouse Improvement, cooking, Goal setting | Tagged anti-depressant, appetite suppressant, conveyor belt, diets, donuts, email, ephesians 4:32, epiphany, forgiveness, grocery store checkout, half Eddie, husbands, husbands get half, hypnotist, ideas, kind, main, oprah, personal shopper, salads, stimulant, tenderhearted, therapist, trainer, weight loss | Leave a comment

Green Eggs

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Laura Alford, PhD

That Sam I Am. That Sam I Am. I do not like that Sam I Am. Raise your hand if you’ve badgered someone into cooking you this meal: Did you try eating it in a box? With a fox? No? … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking | Tagged Big Green Egg, Biscuits, butter, Country Fried Quinoa, Dr. Seuss, Duck Dynasty, goosefoot grain, Green Eggs and Ham, Gweneth Paltrow, Keenwah, Mauna Loa, Miss Kay Robertson, Paula Deen, Quinoa, recipe, Recipes, Rhyming | 1 Comment

Praline Cake (Recipe)

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Laura Alford, PhD

This post is a special request by Patty Keating. Patty, if you come to Natchitoches, I’ll make you a cake! I’d also like to give Susan Noel Sands credit for inspiring this concoction. The cake part is a Duncan Hines … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, Louisiana | Tagged Cane River Kitchenware, Natchitoches, Natchitoches Pecans, Pralines, Susan Noel Sands, Zuzu Praline Mix | 1 Comment

First, You Make a Roux

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Laura Alford, PhD

That’s not totally true. First, secure your hair. Nothing worse than being in the midst of chopping up a Vidalia onion and having to brush your bangs out of your face. You won’t stop crying for at least 15 minutes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholocism, cooking, Louisiana, Writing | Tagged chopping, Crawfish Monica, cream cheese icing, crying, duncan hines mix, ingredients, Laura Esquivel, Lent, Like Water for Chcolate, NOLA Stars, recipe, red velvet cake, Roux, saute, Susan Noel Sands, trinity, Vidalia onions | Leave a comment