Page 102 - March Sun Rays_Text_01-49_proof_FinalTrim

Kiss me,
I’m Cajun!
By Ron and Peggy Scarborough
CAJUN (kay-juhn): A person living
along the bayous, marshes and prairies
of southern Louisiana and southeast Texas
descended from the French Canadian
settlers known as Acadians. Some
colloquially referred to the Acadians as
les Cadiens, which many Americans could
not pronounce, thus giving birth to the
word “Cajun.”
“We have the best of both worlds: We are
Texan by birth; Cajun by blood.”
In 2009, we were new residents in Sun
City Texas but we missed our Cajun
roots. After oodles of ifs, ands and buts,
we organized the Sun City Cajun Club
in hopes of sharing our joie de vivre (joy
of life). The Cajun Club proves that food,
festivals and music – along with a little bit could forget good ole red beans and rice?
of this, a whole lotta that and a sprinkle
of passion – are a good combination when
it comes to meeting new friends.
When it comes to expressing our love
for the Cajun culture, there is no better
way to go than through our foods. Non-
Cajuns may think that all one has to do
to a dish to make it Cajun is add hot sauce
or cayenne pepper. No! Nearly all our core
recipes start with “The Trinity” – celery,
onions and bell peppers – and end with
love. We Cajuns love to cook, eat and share
our sustenance with good friends. Ça c’est
bon (pronounced sa say bohn), meaning,
“that’s good!”
Back home we knew crawfish as “trash”
food from the bayous. Now it’s become a
delicacy, which has elevated the price.
Contingent on Mother Nature, crawfish
seasons can vary from one year to the
other, but Easter Saturday crawfish boils
are a family-and-friends oriented tradition.
Special crawfish pots are filled with
seasonings, boiled crawfish, red potatoes,
onions and corn on the cob. Recently we
discovered adding sausage to the original
100 | SUNRAYS MARCH 2017
Cajun Club members enjoy a crawfish boil. Crawfish is often served with potatoes
and corn on the cob.
Ron and Peggy Scarborough
boil makes it easier to peel the tails. Any
crawfish left from the boil are peeled and
result in dishes such as a bisque, étouffée, and call it a festival, or fais do-do. As long
gumbo and jambalaya.
Another Cajun food staple is boudin, a
sausage filled with a mixture of cooked
pork, rice and special seasonings. One can
find boudin prepared with a wide variety
of combinations, such as shrimp, crawfish,
alligator and crab. Other favorite Cajun
foods include oysters, gumbos – and who
Come ironing days on Mondays, a big pot
of red beans and rice could always be found
simmering on the back burner. It was an
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RON AND PEGGY SCARBOROUGH
easy dish to create without stopping and
checking pots on the stove.
Cajuns will celebrate just about anything
as we have a squeeze box, a fiddle and a
washboard, we’re ready to do some serious
Cajun two-stepping after Mass on Sunday.
Our music can be a melancholy expression
of a hard life story or as free and lively as
the band itself. Our chanky-chank music
has become popular on radio, television, in
schools and now here in Sun City Texas.
Charles Ray Thibodeaux and the Austin
Cajun Aces, a friend from our hometown
of Beaumont, TX, is our favorite dance
band. Most of our events are free, although
we do have two paid events per year. We
count on the club’s support for these paid
events and use any available surplus funds
to subsidize costs. Our mission is to “pass
a good time” and always provide a little
lagniappe to our members. If things work
out, our bank account totals $0 at the end
of the year.
Work hard. Be thrifty. Keep the faith.
Make time for play and do it all with joy
of life. That’s the Cajun way.
For additional information and to
receive “The Cajun Times” (our monthly
newsletter), email us at [email protected].
Remember: one need not be born Cajun to
enjoy the Cajun lifestyle. All are welcome
to join our group. That’s the Cajun Way.
ONLINE: SCTEXAS.ORG