I'm so happy I was in town for the grand opening of the SoFAB Institute Culinary Library. I've had the opportunity to research in this library the past week, and I am loving the chance to work so closely with historic Creole cookbooks. The passages are brimming with beautiful descriptions of the French Market.
I love this passage about gumbo and shopping at the market in Leon E. Soniat's La Bouche Creole:
“Let’s start with a Creole gumbo, a dish which originated in La Belle Nouvelle Orléans. A gumbo is something unique to the Creole cuisine that developed out of the specialties of this area. One of the greatest of these, actually termed the king of the gumbos, is GUMBO Z’HERBES, the gumbo of herbs or green gumbo. It was traditionally served on Good Friday. It seems that after so many days of abstinence and fasting during Lent, observed in the predominantly Catholic community, one needed the sort of revivification or rejuvenation given by this conglomeration of greens.
To get all the necessary greens, one had to go to the French Market--and what a wonderful place that was! Well do I remember early in the morning, almost at daybreak, how we would set out, for we lived within walking distance of the old French Market. When we got to the vegetable stands, where we bought the ingredients for the GUMBO Z’HERBES, there would be the vegetable men or hawkers and their cries of “Get your greens, lady, get your twelve greens, get your fifteen greens, get your seven greens”--the numbers changed as we passed by each of the different stands.” (pg. 13-14)
I love this passage about gumbo and shopping at the market in Leon E. Soniat's La Bouche Creole:
“Let’s start with a Creole gumbo, a dish which originated in La Belle Nouvelle Orléans. A gumbo is something unique to the Creole cuisine that developed out of the specialties of this area. One of the greatest of these, actually termed the king of the gumbos, is GUMBO Z’HERBES, the gumbo of herbs or green gumbo. It was traditionally served on Good Friday. It seems that after so many days of abstinence and fasting during Lent, observed in the predominantly Catholic community, one needed the sort of revivification or rejuvenation given by this conglomeration of greens.
To get all the necessary greens, one had to go to the French Market--and what a wonderful place that was! Well do I remember early in the morning, almost at daybreak, how we would set out, for we lived within walking distance of the old French Market. When we got to the vegetable stands, where we bought the ingredients for the GUMBO Z’HERBES, there would be the vegetable men or hawkers and their cries of “Get your greens, lady, get your twelve greens, get your fifteen greens, get your seven greens”--the numbers changed as we passed by each of the different stands.” (pg. 13-14)
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