FVCS: Annual Volunteer Barbecue Sunday, June 3By The Cajun Queen
Special to the Turnagain Times
The Acadians were French people who made their home in Nova Scotia in Canada. In 1755, because they refused to pledge allegiance to the English Crown, their homes were burned and they were shipped out to sea in boats. Many of them proceeded to make their homes in Louisiana. Longfellow’s poem of Evangeline was drawn from the story of the Acadians’ troubled journey to their new homes and the separations that occurred. They have not been affluent until recent years, but they lived off the bounty of the land. They fished and trapped and farmed and learned about the herbs and seasonings that were available to them. They absorbed ideas from many other cultures, especially German, Spanish, Indian (file from sassafras) and African (okra for gumbo).
Jambalaya is closely related to the Spanish paella. Rice and hot red peppers grew abundantly here. They learned to put many things in one pot and make do with whatever was at hand. The results were spectacular and tasty enough for royalty. Although they were poor in money, they lived well; and although they worked hard, life was a continuous party and no one worried about tomorrow.
The term Cajun is simply a corruption of Acadian, much as Injun is a corruption of Indian. Not too many years ago, you had better have smiled when you called someone a Cajun, unless you, yourself, were one. However, in these days, all Acadians have become proud of their heritage and brag about being Cajun. Those of us who were not born Cajuns would like to be adopted into their marvelous way of life. Visitors to Louisiana have noticed that all the natives here spend a large percentage of their time discussing food. I hope these recipes will make you understand why.
Pique-nique if French for just what it sounds like—a picnic. The most basic food for Acadian get together is boiled shrimp, crabs, and crawfish. Often the cook adds ears of corn and new potatoes to a huge pot of boiling crawfish to which seasoning, lemon halves and bay leaves have been added. They are as good hot as they are iced.
Crawfish usually seem so foreign to visitors coming to the South. Laughingly called “mudbugs,” they are more properly known as crayfish in the North, but “when in Rome” please call them crawfish. They grow to an enormous size in warm bayou waters and their flavor surpasses that of shrimp. Several restaurants in Louisiana specialize in a crawfish platter which features crawfish cooked in many different ways, including crawfish pie and boulettes (little fried balls of crawfish meat, bread crumbs, and seasonings). The story is told of the mama crawfish crying to her children: “Run like the devil, chil’ren, cause das a Cajun comin’, and them doggone Cajuns eat anything.”
The Cajun Queen will have a regular column in the Turnagain Times, featuring the Cajun Queen Recipe Corner.
She writes: Born the lower 48 in a northern state, raised in the South, after the Civil War, found my calling in life, “FOOD”, CAJUN FOOD, that is! Lived and worked in Gonzales, Louisiana the HOME OF JAMBALAYA. One year I entered the jambalaya cook off contest and won, the next year, won again, so I didn’t want to push my luck, so I retired as the “CAJUN QUEEN.” I have lived in Alaska this time, for 5 years and have no intention to moving back down south, so I’ll bring some southern spice to our TURNAGAIN TIMES area. I will have an e-mail address where you can give some suggestions and we can have a question and answer session. (Sort of a chit-chat session)
Looking forward to giving you some SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY, y’all. Warmest regards………….I will remain only as the CAJUN QUEEN!
Crawfish pie
(can substitute shrimp)
3 cups crawfish, ground coarse
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup each of chopped green pepper, parsley and celery
1/2 cup green onions
1 can condensed celery soup
1 can stewed tomatoes, chopped
3 chopped boiled eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
Salt and red pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Heat butter and sauté’ crawfish and vegetables. Add tomatoes and heat 20 minutes. Slowly add celery soup, stirring well, and chopped eggs. Heat longer. Add water or milk if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Remove from fire and stir in bread crumbs. Add more liquid if necessary. Spoon into individual unbaked pie shells, or one large one, and baked in 350 degree oven until browned.
The above mixture can be heated in a greased baking dish and topped with toast triangles dusted with paprika and dotted with butter. The pie crust is not absolutely necessary.
Karen Vaccaro
Special to the Turnagain Times
Springtime is a season of change and transformation. Little Bears has been going through some changes too.
We often have to say goodbye to some of our staff as the seasons change and they go on to pursue other educational or professional objectives. We have had a remarkable staff over the past year, and while we are sad to be without some of them, we wish them the best in their endeavors.
Leslie Adams resigned as Director of Little Bears at the beginning of April. Leslie did an outstanding job as director, keeping staff motivated and encouraging them in their education and expansion of their knowledge in childhood development and teaching methods. Leslie also did a great job on our newsletter and has received many compliments from community members on the articles she included. We look forward to staying in touch with Leslie as she continues to offer her talents to the Girdwood community in new ways.
Summer Stone, has been a returning preschool teacher for the fall and winter. She is returning to Gustavus in Southeast Alaska again this year to lead kayak adventures for the summer visitors. Summer has been an excellent teacher for the preschool children. Her calm demeanor and high standards will be missed by the children and parents of Little Bears.
It’s fair to say, now that flowers are on their way, that February and March were a little tough. Many teachers got that mean cold that went around and a few staff members had to leave on short notice for other reasons. The staff and several board members that pitched in to help keep things going deserve a great deal of thanks. Teachers Summer, Molly, Aubrey, Erin, Alison, Jennifer and Leslie- the families and children of Little Bears truly appreciate your dedication and the extra hours and effort you put in.
Some extra special thanks and recognition also goes out to Little Bears board member Shannon Keegan, who became a toddler teacher for almost two months in a time of need. Shannon and her family made sacrifices these months to help the other families and children at Little Bears. We thank her so much for her time working as a teacher and for her contributions as a Little Bears Board member.
The other board members of Little Bears also want to say thank you to Molly Hickox. As well as being the leader of the board, Molly had been quietly taking on tasks and responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of Little Bears on and off for over two years. These responsibilities are above and beyond the normal duties of a board member or board president, and she consistently puts in many hours and a great deal of effort into making Little Bears an organization that provides high quality experiences and childcare for all children She has temporarily resigned from the position of board president to fill in as acting director during this transition period- and has been doing a great job! Thank you Molly.
We are happy to be welcoming back Amy Hooks as Director of Little Bears. Amy will be working with the other staff members and Little Bears Board to realize ongoing goals of improving the programs and organization strategies of Little Bears to best meet the developmental needs of our children. We will continue to have a few new faces at Little Bears so please stop by and say hello to welcome our new staff and let all of our staff know how much we all value the work they do.
Be on the lookout for more information on upcoming events.
FVCS: Annual Volunteer Barbecue Sunday, June 3By Julie Jonas
Special to the Turnagain Times
Come one, come all! The Annual Volunteer Barbecue will be held Sunday,June 3 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Crow Creek Mine. Families (children included) are welcome. Thank you to the Toohey family for once again donating the use of this lovely venue. This is the time to honor our accomplishments and the volunteers who make it happen. All non-profit organizations in the Four Valleys areas are invited to attend and recognize those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to their organization. In addition, Four Valleys Community School (FVCS) coordinates the nomination and selection of the two recipients of the overall 2006-2007 Community Service Award, and we will announce the winners at the Barbecue. Call 742-5317 for more information.
Speaking of outstanding accomplishments, two high school seniors, Gena Beam and Sierra Motsinger, have been awarded Community Service Scholarships ($750 each). These awards are given annually by FVCS and the Girdwood Lion’s Club to high school seniors who demonstrate exemplary leadership and service contributions. Congratulations!
Coming up for summer, look for the annually popular Four Valleys Soccer Leagues, Science Camp and Girdwood Fine Arts Camps. We took Registrations for these programs beginning with Spring Quarter Registration. There are still some spots available, so we will list them again in our Summer Program Guide, which Girdwood and Bird/Indian residents will find in their post office boxes soon. Summer Playground will be offered for 3-4 year olds and 5 year olds just going in to Kindergarten. Primary Summer Day Camp will be for those going in to Grades 1-3, and Intermediate Summer Day camp will be for those going in to grades 4-6. Summer Quarter Registration is Tuesday, May 22, 2007 at 7:00 pm at the Girdwood School.
Four Valleys Community School, Inc. is striving to provide a wide range of class opportunities, activities, and community enrichment year round. Your input and involvement is welcome. Our costs to provide these services have increased because of our liability insurance, 510 (c)3 status and staffing. Increases to class and camp prices reflect our increased costs. Because FVCS has a special agreement with the Anchorage School District to use the school building Monday through Friday during the school year, we are able to keep these increases minimal. We will, however need to renegotiate that agreement next year. Hopefully we can continue to offer our classes at reasonable costs.
Don’t miss Mural Painting with Barbara Lavallee on Saturday, June 2. Help create a new mural at the Little Bears playground from 10:00 a.m. until it’s finished. Have a great summer!
By Brooks Chandler
Special to the Turnagain Times
Local fundraising for Girdwood’s new library and community center is entering the stretch run. Mark Saturday, May 19 on your calendar for a pancake breakfast. Chair 5 has generously agreed to contribute all ingredients. Girdwood Elementary students will provide fast, friendly service and your friends and neighbors will supply the company. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Cost is $8.50 for Adults, $5.00 for Kids and $22 for a family of 4. Juice, milk and hot chocolate are available for $1.50. We are more than half way to meeting the Rasmuson Foundation challenge grant goal of $100,000 in private contributions but still need your support. Something will have to be left out from the finished product if we can’t meet the 2:1 matching fund challenge grant of the Rasmuson Foundation. So please come on down for a tasty breakfast on May 19 at Chair 5.
And for those of you who still can’t believe this project is finally happening, (and those who want to see for themselves), the “pinch me I’m not dreaming” date is May 29. That’s when ground will be broken behind the fire hall at 11 a.m. All are welcome. We expect famous Girdwood residents to be there including at least one member of Girdwood’s United States Senate delegation. So after you help make history happen come watch history in the making. The library and community center task force would like to acknowledge and thank the entire community for helping build the library for Girdwood’s second century. We are almost there!