Foodie Friday - Springtime in Texas

It's late spring here in Texas and that means thunderbumpers, warmer weather, and the beginning of summer (which arrives here far before much of the rest of the country). Last week, in particular, was very warm. Warm enough to, dare I say, swim.

I got home from work on Friday afternoon to find out that the kids had wanted to wait until I got home so that we could all go down to the pool together. "Oh dear," I thought, "That means I have to put on my swimsuit."

It wasn't pretty.

But we went down to our neighborhood pool on this warm Friday afternoon and had a great time. I even got a rare glimpse of "Scuba Steve."

Yes it was all fun.

Until.

Well, let me just ask you, do you see anything amiss in this picture?



No? Well that's because it's under the surface. And that "IT" was my man's iPhone.

Let me just say that iPhones and water... they don't like one another.

*Sigh*

So while springtime in Texas means the start of summer and swimming, it also means several things food related. And one of those things is:



Crawdads. Mud Bugs. Crawfish.

Yes, when I thing of spring I also think of a good ol' crawfish boil.

We have two friends that each throw one almost every spring. And I can't think of when they have landed on the same day. So I just know, headed into spring, that we have two Saturdays that are spent among friends peeling mud bugs.

It just doesn't get much better, in my opinion.

And just a natural part of any crawfish boil is the kids gathered around the ice chest or pool of live ones.



There may or may not be a little torture of the live ones. That's considered top secret information and I cannot confirm or deny the presence of torture.

But usually there is a pardon from the boiling pot waiting for at least a few of these tasty creatures. We have brought home more than our fair share of Mr. Pinchys.



I feel the need to tell you that my kids love crawfish as much as I do. It was two years ago that I couldn't peel them fast enough for Sarah, so I told her that she'd have to start peeling her own. She has stepped up to it and we have a good time peeling crawfish together. Nathan likes them too, but more so at one friend's house than the other where they are a little more spicy.

And with any good crawfish boil, there is the inevitable pot luck that goes along side. It's usually full of side dishes, dips and best of all, desserts.

Last year I showed up to my friend Carrie's house without my homemade brownies and we were almost booted out of the place. I didn't make that mistake this year. And sure enough, by the time we left, my serving tray was completely empty. I tell you, there is no more satisfying feeling than when your dish is completely devoured.

Although, I took my Cream Cheese Pound Cake to my friend Sherri's house and we came home with a bit of it. That's pretty satisfying, too because then you actually get to eat some of the fruit of your labor.

This year, Carrie also asked me to make Jambalaya. "Oh wait, you want me to make a big pot of yummyness? Oh, well, okay. Twist my arm."



So here's my recipe for Jambalaya. It's probably not authentic Cajun Jambalaya, but it's one of those dishes that you can just kind of throw everything in a pot and out pops something wonderful!

So, if you ever have the opportunity to participate in what someone one twitter called a "proper southern crawfish boil," I highly encourage you to do so. Not only is the food usually SO good, but the friendship and fun are even more so.

Oh, and guys, never put your iPhone in your swimsuit pocket. I'm just sayin'.

Dishes in this post:
Jambalaya
Brownies
Cream Cheese Pound Cake