A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....10-17-03...Louisiana - "Come as you are, leave different."

Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine, FreeTheHostages ~

It's FRiday and we hope you will join us as we take a cyber-tour of another great state in this Union of ours. As we discover and spotlight each of our 50 states we also salute the proud FReepers who call their state 'home'.

Over the past few months the "Finest" hostesses have each profiled their home states (Dutchess will be spotlighting Michigan soon), and I will be presenting the other states in random order. Please FReepMail me if you would like to participate in spotlighting your state. I would love to have your input on what you would like to see highlighted.

These are the states we have presented to date:

05-23-03 Alabama 06-27-03 Maryland 07-11-03 Vermont 07-25-03 Utah 08-05-03 Texas 08-22-03 Nevada

08-26-03 Washington DC 09-05-03 Tennessee 09-17-03 Florida 09-19-03 Minnesota 10-03-03 New Mexico 10-14-03 Georgia

Come along with us today as we head down south and tour the "Pelican State".

Jambalaya
Possum Rag
LeDance De Mardi Gras
House of the Rising Sun

How Louisiana came to be...

The Louisiana region was settled by Indians in prehistoric times, at least as early as 6,000 years ago. At the time of European exploration in the 16th century, there were more than 10,000 Indians in Louisiana. However, authentic recorded history of this area doesn't actually begin until 1682. It was then that Sierra de La Salle, the French explorer, reached the mouth of the Mississippi, claimed all its drainage basin for France, and named the area Louisiana to honor Louis XIV.

Many flags have flown over what
is now the state of Louisiana....

No other state has a more varied or colorful past than Louisiana. The state has been governed under 10 different flags beginning with Hernando de Soto's claim of the region for Spain. La Salle later claimed it for Bourbon France and over the years Louisiana was at one time or another subject to the Union Jack of Great Britain, the Tricolor of Napoleon, the Lone Star flag of the Republic of West Florida and the fifteen stars and stripes of the United States. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Louisiana became an independent republic for six weeks before joining the Confederacy.

Earlier, in 1803, Louisiana had become a part of the United States because of the region's importance to the trade and security of the American mid-west. New Orleans and the surrounding territory controlled the mouth of the Mississippi River down which much of the produce of the mid-west traveled to reach market. To get the vital region in American hands, President Thomas Jefferson negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with Napoleon.

With the acquisition of Louisiana, Jefferson nearly doubled the size of the fledgling U.S. and made it a world power. Later, 13 states or parts of states were carved out of the Louisiana Purchase territory.

The state flag of Louisiana... The design consists of the pelican group from the state seal, in white and gold, and a white ribbon bearing the state motto, "Union, Justice, and Confidence", on a field of a solid blue. This flag was adopted in 1912.

Baton Rouge became the capitol of Louisiana in 1846 and remained so until 1862 and the onset of the Civil War. The capitol changed locations several times and Baton Rouge was designated the permanent capitol in 1879. A bit of trivia.....the capitol building is the tallest of any state capitol - it is 450 feet tall with 34 floors.

What comes to mind when you think of Louisiana? Southern Belles and beautiful plantations? Bayous, alligators and crawfish? Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street? Mint juleps, shrimp boats and Jambalaya? Because I love food, especially spicy hot food, when I think of Louisiana, my thoughts turn to Cajun cookin'- or, is it Creole cookin'? And, what's the difference anyway?

Well, according to this website, "ABOUT LOUISIANA CUISINE"......"Most Louisiana chroniclers claim the answer is simple. Many Creoles were rich planters and their kitchens aspired to grande cuisine. Their recipes came from France or Spain as did their chefs. By using classic French techniques with local foodstuffs, they created a whole new cuisine, Creole cooking."


"On the other hand, the Acadians, pronounced (uh-CADE-ee-uns), later contracted to "Cajun", were a tough people used to living under strenuous conditions. They tended to serve strong country food prepared from locally available ingredients. It was pungent, peppery and practical since it was all cooked in a single pot. Thus Cajun cuisine was born.

There is one rule that both the Creoles and Cajuns agree upon and that is that there is no one rule and no one recipe when it comes to matters of food. There are hundreds of different recipes for gumbo, jambalaya, turtle soup and they are all right because no one is wrong. Privately, they know that everything they cook is original, because their kitchens are kitchens of "ad lib". They are experimenting, creating, changing, always trying to make it taste better."

"When the taste
changes with every
bite and the last
bite tastes as good
as the first,
....that's Cajun."
- Paul Prudhomme




So, there you have it, that's the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisine. :-)

Famous Louisianians
Louis Armstrong musician, New Orleans
Geoffrey Beene fashion designer, Haynesville
Truman Capote writer, New Orleans
Kitty Carlisle singer, actress, New Orleans
Van Cliburn concert pianist, Shreveport
Fats Domino musician, New Orleans
Bryant Gumbel TV newscaster, New Orleans
Lillian Hellman playwright, New Orleans
Al Hirt trumpeter, New Orleans
Mahalia Jackson gospel singer, New Orleans
Dorothy Lamour actress, New Orleans
Jerry Lee Lewis singer, Ferriday
Huey P. Long politician, Winnfield
Wynton Marsalis musician, New Orleans
Jelly Roll Morton jazz musician, composer, New Orleans
Huey Newton black activist, New Orleans
Paul Prudhomme chef, Opelousas
Cokie Roberts journalist, New Orleans
Kordell Stewart football player, Marrero

"Laissez les bons temps rouler"
(lay-say lay bawn tawn roulay)
"Let the good times roll,"
(the motto of many Louisianians)

Finally, this profile on Louisiana
would not be complete without at
least a brief mention of Mardi Gras.
Click here for the history of "Carnival".

See you there!

The following websites provided
historical information and graphics....

"The 50 States - Louisiana"
"The History of Louisiana"






Have a nice FRiday
and a relaxing weekend!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 10-13-03...Military Monday 10-14-03...Relax - You're in Georgia Now 10-15-03...Junk Mail Blues 10-16-03...John's Two Cents

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact dansangel or .45MAN danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

[WVNan]

Aqua, you MUST stop posting that picture of Rhett. He makes me cry, "What am I going to do? I won't think about that today, I'll think about that tomorrow."

[WVNan]

Hi Colleen. Yes, you really should go. It's an experience not to forget. The food is out of this world.

[Billie]

Hi, Nan - that blue hug is adorable! Thank you for 'your' part in keeping the Finest alive and, well, the 'finest'. :)

[Billie]

I know - dinosaurs! LOL!

[MeekOneGOP]

Meekie, that pic of Dorothy Lamour came near giving me cardiac arrest...good grief, whatta dish...)

hehe ! Yeah, I don't think I'd ever seen that one before either. What a doll, huh ? ...

[dansangel]

Actually, I refuse to acknowledge any first-hand experience on those abominable things for fear that it will blatantly age me.

I used to have one that pre-dated the electric typewriters! Shhhhh.....:-)

[dutchess]

Lori. Thanks for the additional information on Tri-Tip. Am intrigued what the butcher will say. Re: formatting problems...if TTM didn't see it...it's clearly only on certain monitors...HE would never let you get away with something like that

jwfiv...so good to see you today...had to say hi

colleen...how's Lucy? Codee has been "leaning left" and "stumbling" a little. She's 15 so age is a factor but the vet says she has an inner ear infection contributing to the problem which we are now treating with eardrops. Also, Giz was just put on Thyroid meds..no symptoms but scratching and hairloss... Geesh!

Nan...re: your ring and St. Anthony. I've been using him for years. Our priest just laughs when I sent another check with St. Anthony on the memo line. Mr. D. just groans LOL

Russ...thanks for posting the email from Russ's wife. It really brings it closer. Continued prayers...

Billie....we're doing the theater thing tomorrow...("Urinetown" ? know nothing about it except it won a Tony last year) I will try to send you the final pictures on Sunday for Wed's thread.

Highschool football night...have to run. Hugs to all

[WVNan]

Hi dansy. How's Hotlanta? I enjoyed the Ga. thread the other day, even though I didn't have time to participate. Hotlanta is where my last child dropped out of Heaven. He was then born in Jackson, Miss. I have so many ties to the Southland.

[Mama_Bear]

Mama_Bear, it looks fine to me.

Good. I hate thinking that people are seeing it messed up.

I love Louisiana. Been there several times. Spent a couple of days at a hotel on Bourbon Street. My youngest son was 5 years old at the time and was already playing his little fiddle....He said, "I'll save it until I'm 18 and then I'm coming back here and see one of those girly shows."

LOL!!! I LOVE these little stories that you and Sister Maggie tell. You have both been so many places and had such interesting experiences.

I had a bit of a similar experience when I was in Honolulu with my son and his cousin. They were nine or ten at the time. They spotted a couple "ladies of the evening" while we were walking down a street in the tourist district. I couldn't help but laugh. The boys were enough ahead of me that I don't think they knew I was aware of what they were snickering over. Then I over-heard my son's cousin tell him .."my mom calls them 'store-bought muffins'". Of course more giggling and snickering erupted.....until I grabbed them both by the scruff of their necks and veered them off into a gift shop. LOL!

Memories..... aren't they wonderful??

[WVNan]

And it is the Finest. It's the only place I post any more for the most part, and lately not much here either. LOL.

[dutchess]

Okay...on my way out but had to look...yes maryland and DC are off...(maybe TTM thought that was a deliberate Freudian thing LOL)

Wierd thing for me..I was working on my next week thing last night and all the borders were messed up. I ended up deleting the urls and reinserting them (they were exactly the same) and it was fine. Wierd... Hope to stop back later...Have a wonderful evening...and thanks for the memories Lori...Told Mr. D. about your thread and he said "The Big Easy" is on tomorrow nights agenda!

[WVNan]

I was frankly pretty shocked that I found that ring. I had to laugh. Here I was a good Methodist praying to a Catholic Saint to find my expensive ring. Cognitive dissonance.

[WVNan]

LOL....yes, kids are brutally outspoken sometimes.

[Aquamarine]

The second plantation in that post is beautiful with the arching trees!

[WVNan]

Isn't it though. It looks like the house in Gone With the Wind.

[Mama_Bear]

Hi Colleen. Glad you enjoyed Louisiana. When I present a state I try to capture some of the flavor, or the uniqueness, or 'atmosphere' of the area. With Louisiana, especially New Orleans, it was easy. They have a rich and unique ethnic heritage found nowhere else.

I want to go see for myself, although I am not fond of seafood, and it seems that's what they are famous for. I am sure the Creoles and Cajuns must do something interesting with beef. :-)

[MEG33]

God bless you and may your weekend be a fine one.

[Mama_Bear]

This one is called Oak Alley Plantation.....it is beautiful!

Located on the Mississippi River between the historic cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Oak Alley Plantation has been called the "Grande Dame" of the Great River Road. Nowhere else in the South will you find such a spectacular setting! The quarter-mile canopy of giant live oak trees, believed to be nearly 300 years old, forms an impressive avenue leading to the classic Greek-revival style antebellum home.

Built in 1839 by a wealthy French Creole sugar planter from New Orleans, Oak Alley Plantation today offers daily guided tours, bed & breakfast accommodations in 19th-century Creole cottages, a Cajun/Creole restaurant offering local favorites, a café/ice cream parlor, an impressive gift shop and a spectacular setting for weddings, parties and other private functions.

[dansangel]

((((((((((dutchess))))))))))

Sorry I missed you. I was updating the LBGA prayer thread because I heard from her sister today. LBGA is getting weaker. Not a good sign. :-(

Hope you have fun at the high school game tonight!

[deadhead]

"Highschool football night...have to run."

Night football, excellent...have a fun night! My cousin coached Highschool football in the Columbus area and I went to a few games on my visits there, loved it. Wish they did the same here in N.Y. One thing I remember quite vividly, at one game there were thousands (OK, maybe hundred's LOL)of bats that flew above the field area...never saw so many bats in my life!

Hope that Codee and Giz feel better real soon, will keep your pups in my prayers. Lucy is doing really good. A big difference this past week.