As the front page on NOLA.com says.. WHO DAT? NOBODY! lol.. we cried so much during the game every time something emotional happened. Christy and her sister kept calling back and forth until the game was over, then the phones were so jammed it took an hour before she could call us again. Christy's Mama was very excited and we all wished Christy's Daddy and his brother Earl could have been alive to see it. Awesome night! The cat kept freaking out when Christy would yell and she'd go skittering off her lap..lol. Our dog just looked at us, wondering. When the game was done Christy's sister and brother and their kids all went in their truck and joined all the other vehicles in an impromptu parade. Even the firetrucks were out in the parade running their sirens. Of course there were plenty of fireworks going too, they said it sounded like New Years! Ahhh... the Saints won... so happy.

On Monday my wife announced that 6 people were coming over for dinner on Tuesday. I had a pound of Mahi Mahi and a pound of shrimp that I needed to use so I decided to make a jambalaya following the recipe I had posted earlier that day, but with the mahi mahi substituted for the chicken. The she told be that at least one and maybe two of them were vegetarians. I was focused on using the shrimp and fish, and focused on making Jambalaya so I decided to make it and then also make a pot of vegetarian jambalaya. I looked up a half-dozen recipes and made the following synthesis of the recipes I had read. Even the non-vegetarians in the group who tried it liked it. I tried some, and like the overall flavor, but wasn't happy with the texture of the Tofurkey smoked sausage I used. Note: I don't have accurate measurements for the spices I used because I left work at 4:30 P.M. and had to shop for ingredients on the way home and have both jambalayas and the rice and the cornbread casserole ready by 6:30 P.M. Also I intended to include chick peas based on the picture ynnej included above, but forgot to buy them. Vegetarian Jambalaya 2 medium yellow onions (chopped) 1 zucchini (halved lengthwise and sliced) 1 yellow squash (halved lengthwise and sliced) 2 cans diced tomatoes (drained half-heartedly) 1 small can tomato paste 1 bell pepper (cut into 3/4" square pieces) 2 stalks of celery (sliced) 1 portobello mushroom 1 Veggie smoked sausage (sliced) (I used Tofurkey brand) 4 cloves crushed garlic 1/2 tsp thyme ? 1/2 tsp black pepper ? 2 tsp smoked paprika ? 2 tsp creole seasoning ? 1 Tbsp diced pickled jalapeno 4 shakes Frank's Red Hot sauce Method: Cook onion in vegetable oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add thyme, black pepper, creole seasoning and paprika Add bell pepper, garlic, and celery, cook for another 10 minutes, Add diced tomato, jalapeno and red hot sauce, simmer While that is all simmering for each of the veggie smoked sausage, zucchini, yellow squash and mushroom: lightly brown them in vegetable oil in a small frying pan and add them to the pot Served on top of rice that was made with 50/50 water/vegetable stock.

I'm kind of in-between being away for the weekend, some family things, having some company and getting ready to go away for a month next week and I'm sorry to say I'm not doing anything for Mardi Gras this year (except for a tree and a couple of decorations in my kitchen). You recipe looks like a winner to me, thank you. Is there any seasoning sprinkled on the pork?

We here in the Tampa Bay Area have what's called the Gasparilla Pirate Festival which includes a parade in late January. (It's mainly a money-making thing for all the snowbirds that are still here.) It's been going on for over a century. When I was a kid my grandma lived on a street that the parade went down and we saw it for several years in a row. But when my son got to be old enough to know what was going on I took him and couldn't believe what was going on. I vowed not to take him back. People were acting as if it was Mardi Gras and I'm talking broad daylight flashing and heavy drinking/drug activity. They finally started having a separate parade day for the children because a lot of families refused to go anymore. So I don't have anything against people who want to hoop and holler and act up in adult fashion but not around the kids.