I have mentioned before--maaaaany times--that my mother is from New Orleans. Because of that, certain traditions from that city have always been a part of my life. Mostly food, since that is a big part of the culture of New Orleans.
Pork, greens, black-eyed peas for our health, wealth, and happiness on New Year's Day. Red beans and rice. Grillades and grits. King cake for Mardi Gras.
And now, jambalaya, biscuits, and pecan pie for Fat Tuesday.
This was not something my mother made when I was growing up that I remember. Not on Fat Tuesday, at least. The jambalaya was something I made for the very first time last year, just because A. was remembering Popeye's jambalaya so fondly, and I was sure I would be able to make something at least as good.
This year, I'm adding the biscuits (these butter-swim biscuits) because they were very much like the greasy Popeye's biscuits that A. also loved. And the pecan pie because I now have a really good recipe for it that everyone in the family likes (except I use dark maple syrup instead of golden syrup.)
So I guess I've come up with my own tradition for Fat Tuesday. It's funny to think that these are the things my children will carry forward into their own lives--or not, we'll see--and consider just family tradition because it's what they remember from their childhoods.
I have become the tradition maker instead of the recipient. An inevitable generational shift, I suppose.
So tell me: What family traditions have you inherited or started yourself?
P.S. I used this as our wake-up song this morning. After it was over, one boy announced, "I like that song. It has lots of food in it." Indeed.
4 comments:
I make cheese braid at Christmas, tradition from my mom. My daughter has now added chocolate babka and quiche for Christmas. We also (accidentally)started a tradition of coloring Easter eggs on
Good Friday outside with our neighbor's kids. However, they are adults noww,, so we do it alone now. Unfortunately, I'm more in the mood to streamline traditions and cut things out.
hot cross buns Easter morning; or is that not a tradition but just something everybody does? We have the biggest, craziest jelly bean hunt with everyone we can collect Easter afternoon.
I have never made hot cross buns, and never knew anyone who did except the MiL who made them just once. As mbmom11 noted, I don't really want to start another tradition, so I think that one will not become one in our household.
The Shrove Tuesday Pancake supper at church was revived after a couple of covid years. I think I cooked about 12 lbs of breakfast sausages and made lots of applesauce as well. So I guess that is counting as a tradition, even if not exactly a family tradition.
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