Showing posts with label Beignets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beignets. Show all posts



§ A Walk in the Park and Beignets...


The morning of Halloween, I opted to walk and check for birds in a downtown park. When I arrived at the destination, I was astounded by the number of vehicles parked in the two courthouse auxilary parking lots! I had to choose an area near the city library and walk from there to the park. I did find out the reason for all the "people" tho...The 2nd person to be running for Governor of Texas was campaigning near the courthouse. He trails Gov. Abbott by double digits, but I'm not so sure [by the number of cars] that is true. You really can't trust polls since you don't know where or how many are polled.

Okay, so at the park. It was very quiet. I mentioned on my bird photo blog that the mirgratory patterns for this year has been unique. Hardly any action for weeks. I did see a mockingbird, and heard other birdsong, but nothing really earth shattering! This park has several butterfly bushes around, and there was more activity at these spots than the tree canopies. I stopped and spent a great deal of time photographing the "pretties"....








I then hopped back in the car and drove a short distance to the largest cemetery for some birding. That too was quite busy with people...preparing for celebrating Día de los Muertos on November 1st. So, my walking was short lived. I did however see two red winged hawks and chased them around through the large oak trees just to get a few good photographs. Look closely!!! See him? I did get some better images that will go up this weekend on my bird photography blog.

I soon left and then thought our "treat for Halloween" this year will be the delicious sweet French/famous New Orleans dessert-pastries! And I knew right where to find 'em. The french bakery is in OLD Town Corpus Christi, and really kinda a dive establishment. Let me say, I wouldn't have a 'sit down' meal there, but I will order to go!! Expensive, but worth every dime. Powdered sugar Beignets!!! Cream filled of course. This time, I decided I'd choose the baked beignets instead of the deep fried ones. Deeeelicious.
    from wikipedia:
    Beignet is a type of fritter, or deep-fried pastry, usually made from yeast dough in France, ... Potato beignets from Haute-Savoie. Type, Pastry. Place of origin, Ancient Rome.

To round off my morning, I had to stop at the grocery store for milk and butter. When I went INTO the store it was mild and partly cloudy. The weather forecast the previous evening said that there was a cold front moving into our coastal area, bringing lots of chilly temps and much needed rain. Well, when I walked OUT of the grocery store, the front was making its way into the gulf coast...the bank of clouds reached as far as the eye could see from horizon to horizon. And, yes, we are getting the rain today!! [Tuesday]



§ All I Can Say is YUM....


Y'all were most curious about my bucket list food.  Instead of birds and flowers seen on my walk, I changed my thoughts onto something delectable  ...Keep in mind these are about the size of a medium egg. Quite small for the wallop of calories, fat, and cholesterol!! But as I posted yesterday, I have always wanted to have a taste test. New Orleans is famous for these confections on the French Quarter. A few years back when we drove to New Orleans, I was highly tempted once again. As we walked the Quarter, watching all the people at the outdoor sidewalk cafes [and indoor diners], chomping away at these luscious looking bombs!! Yes, for decades these have been on my bucket list to try. Heck, about 10 years ago I finally tried Grits for the first time in my life. My dad was a meat and potatoes man; mom cooked to please him. We never had 'experimental' foods when I grew up. I'd find myself looking through magazines as a kid, drooling over some of the recipes in Woman's Day [...do they still publish that?].   Trying to convince mom to try something new, her response was always something like "Your father wants pot roast for dinner".  Chicken?  Fried...'cause that's the way he liked Chicken.  Pork?  Fried pork chops, or occasionally roasted rump roast...but, always with potatoes.  Mashed or fried.  Rarely baked.  Come to think of it, we didn't have tossed salads...it was always corn with butter, or green beans in white sauce.  For dessert, when we did have it once in a while, it was always pie. So, you can see my lack of 'exotic' foods.  By the way, I am on the verge of frying okra.  Never had that in my 70 years.  Being in the south, I've tried many food stuffs I only dreamed about when at home with Ma and Pa Fryin' Pan Kettle.


The New Orleans French Beignets [Ben YAYs]

Anyway, I can now scratch this off my 'bucket list of foods to try'.  They are delicious.  To think...all the years in the past with none tried.  I could kick myself!   Lethal tho, nutritional-wise. These I bought are called "mini beignets". I'm not gonna even LOOK at the nutrition label....I've vowed to just enjoy them while they last. I did go out online for this post tho; to list the stats on the Cafe Du Monde -circa 1862 [New Orleans Beignets] for those interested:









Table of Contents