My first passage…

Captain America and Yacht Lancelot

 

“Melinda, you have a phone call from a captain in Tortola?”, Mom queried across the living room of our Cajun cottage in south Louisiana. I ran to the land line and a familiar voice quipped, “I got your letter and you’re hired. Can you be here on June 1st?” Mom’s piercing eyes squinted at me as she shook her head from side to side.” I answered, “Yes, I’m so excited, I’ll plan my travel right away”. “So, you’re going, you’re going to leave your little sisters, synchronized swimming team and your job at the dive shop and just fly off to some island in the middle of nowhere”, Mom insisted, “And, I heard there were still pirates there.” I pleaded, “you don’t understand Mom, I have to go!” and I did, because this was my only chance to escape an uneventful existence living “down the bayou” in Houma, Louisiana for the rest of my life. Thus, began my cooking journey initially on a 50 ft sailing vessel, Yacht Lancelot, in the exquisite island paradise of the British Virgin Islands nestled between the American Virgin Islands and the Lesser Antilles--Anguilla, Anegada and south to Antigua. When I arrived is became clear very quickly that Captain America would steer Yacht Lancelot, play the guitar and sing, while I cooked three meals a day in between morning scuba dives on the wreck of the Rhone and afternoon dives at Blonde Rock or the Indians near Norman Island. I was young, fit and eager to please, but I learned shortly that cooking without the typical American provisions required problem solving and creativity. The Ample Hamper gourmet store just across the street from our happy hour hangout, The Pub, in Roadtown, Tortola provided unique British fare, but staples were slim. Fortunately, fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers filled the void. I adapted some classic recipes based on the ingredients available, and tested them on our guests (but they didn’t know this).  Osso Buco, thus became Osso Cochon and Fettuccini Alfredo became Creamy Swiss Veggie Ribbon Fettucine. Happy hours required “small bits” and mine were always favored for their spicy Cajun seasoning and fresh ingredients. One special evening I arrived on one of our friend’s boats with smoked salmon roses with spicy cream cheese, spring onion leaves and capers, and this is when I met Mr. Old Spice--tall, handsome, charismatic and charming with a woman in every port. At 25 years old I was definitely “Brandy” and bait for the land sharks. You’ll need to wait until the next chapter to hear more…….

Recipes

Osso Couchon

Creamy Swiss Veggie Ribbon Fettucine

Avocado Spinach Salad with cucumber-tomato relish

Smoked Salmon Roses with Spicy Cream Cheese

“Half of What You Eat is Healthy, the Other Half Kills You”

 

James M. Sothern, scientist, musician, author and Louisiana cultural preservationist

 

This book focuses on the half that is good for you. I was so fortunate to be born into a happy, supportive family who loved entertaining, cooking, dancing and music. More importantly, I was raised by a true artist and renaissance man, James M. Sothern. Always ahead of his time, my father engaged in organic gardening before it was trendy, challenged policy makers on environmental issues, such as saving the honeybees from pesticides, even before the dangers were known. He designed and constructed authentic, true-to-form cajun cottages using recycled cypress from plantation homes, built furniture with reclaimed wood from Tulane University auditorium bleachers and cocktail bars using bamboo found floating in the Gulf of Mexico. Along with lifetime friends, he restored a 40’ sailing sloop from the hull upward, which they appropriately named, the Rum Runner. He also hosted, cooked and performed for thousands of visitors from around the world at The Camp Seafood Restaurant and Swamp Tours on Grand Caillou Bayou in lower Terrebonne parish. Jimmy spent years of research documenting environmental and cultural insults and influencing local governments to take action to restore the wetlands and preserve the cajun way of life in South Louisiana. His authenticity, humor, kindness, especially to those most vulnerable, and willingness to engage anyone in conversation are threaded throughout this cookbook. My extended family and my experience growing up on a bayou in a small town in South Louisiana influenced not only my cooking but my quest for scientific answers to how food and movement influence health and prevent disease. It seems that our grandparents and their grandparents already had it right: Eat as close to nature as you possibly can. Fresh, local seafood and produce grown in home gardens provided the ingredients in this chapter’s recipes. Following this trend led to my Dad leading a very active life until the age of 90 years. Two weeks prior to his passing, he was dancing and singing to his grandson, “One Monday morning, I got up late, there was Mr. Monkey, standing by my gate….I don’t know what to do the monkey won’t do……I jump up, monkey jump up too” (Harry Belafonte, Calypso, 1960)

 

Recipes                                                                                                               

Mains:

Paw Paw PK’s Seafood Boil

Seafood bisque

                                                                                                                                                               

Sides/Appetizers:

Mexacoon Salad

Mo Mo Dee Dee’s mustard olive potato salad

Cajun smothered beans (green, lima, white, red)

Individual shrimp in spicy cajun cocktail or Arnaud’s remoulade sauce

Desserts/Cocktails:

Ambrosia            

 

Cooking play list:

Jamaica Farewell

Jambalaya

Fire and Rain

Everybody’s Talking at Me

Big Bambo

 

 

Exercise Play List:

I will play for gumbo (warm-up)

Louisiana Saturday Night

Congo to Cuba

Petite Banjo (Cool Down)

 

Deck Aerobics

  • Pulling your Weight on Deck

  • Raising the Missen – pull up

  • Rowing the dinghy - rowing

  • Lowering the stern – squats