Vegetable Gardens

» Robert Dailey - Okra Gumbo

In response to Okra Gumbo posted by Sally125:

Don't be afraid to ask. Coot gumbo is not an anthropophagus soup of old man. A coot is a bird which the Cajuns call poulle d'eau (water chicken). The scientific name is fuluca americana. It is a duck-like waterfowl that is a little smaller than a duck.

The original Cajuns were peasants (that's not a perjorative word here- they were really poor farmers, fishermen and trappers) and isolated from mainstream America for several centuries. As a result, they (we)used the natural world to feed themselves (ourselves).

Interestingly, the eating of crawfish (crayfish to Les Americaines) was considered culturally and gastronomically abominable by the New Orleans Creoles and Americans who lived in the state until it became fashionable to be a Cajun. Now everyone wants crawfish. Maybe we can start a similar trend with "poulle d'eau." Prepared correctly, they're quite tasty.
Bob