JOIE D’EVE
Carnival Cuisine The top 5 foods of the season By Eve Crawford Peyton
Most nights, my kids are at
least served a healthy meal, even if they don’t always eat it. While Georgia is still in her buttered carbs phase, Ruby and Elliot will happily eat broccoli, greens, sautéed zucchini, sweet potatoes, green beans, chick peas, cucumber salad, and even Brussels sprouts. But right now is not “most nights.” Right now is Carnival time, baby. And so my kids are eating Rice
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Krispy treats, Goldfish, Voodoo Zapp’s, and juice boxes. They’re eating pizza rolls off a paper plate while we’re stuck in traffic. For protein, they get peanut butter granola bars, and the closest they’re going to get to a vegetable until Wednesday is maybe a carrot on a veggie tray at an open house. The food groups of Mardi Gras are different, and everyone knows that Carnival calories don’t count. So what’s fueling us during this
marathon party? Well, anything of butter, softened; 1.5 teaspoons that keeps well (no mayonnaise- of vanilla, 1.5 tablespoons of based salads, people, now or really cinnamon, one box of powdered any other time) and is portable sugar, and 4 tablespoons of milk), is pretty ideal. and top with a king cake baby. 4. King cake. This is frequently breakfast for Ruby, and while I My top 5 are: 1. Boudin balls. These are don’t feel great about that, I also one of my top snack foods, don’t think it’s much worse than even not during Mardi Gras. My cinnamon rolls, and people eat favorites are from Boucherie, but those for breakfast all the time. I’ve had good ones from Tracey’s She drinks a glass of milk with it and McClure’s, too. and sometimes has some fruit, too, 2. Daiquiris. Now these, I defi- so it’s basically part of a complete nitely don’t drink year-round. I like breakfast. I am not a huge fan of the occasional eggnog daq around king cake myself, honestly, but I the holidays, but beyond that, still eat about 8 tons of it every these are only good at a parade. Carnival season just because it’s Several locations will sometimes there. (Side note: I hope all of you even offer a virgin daiquiri for the jerks who eat king cake whenever kids, but not all, as I learned once you damn well please – as if there when then-3-year-old Ruby had aren’t rules about these things – an absolute sobbing meltdown are happy with yourself for this and cried herself to sleep in her dreadful Carnival forecast. YOU did car seat repeating, “I WANT A this to us, you Epiphany scofflaws, DAIQUIRI! I WANT A DAIQUIRI, you king cake heathens. This is MAMA! I WANT A DAIQUIRI!” ALL on you.) Having your kid cry in a drive-thru 5. Popeyes. This one is obvious. daiquiri line is really something Although a spicy dark meat combo with mashed potatoes, red beans, that only happens here. 3. Carnival cupcakes. I make and a biscuit is good on just a these for the kids’ classes every random lazy Saturday, it’s sublime year and often bring them to on the parade route. Just like the parade potlucks. The recipe is sea air makes sandwiches and simple (because more time spent lemonade taste better, something baking cupcakes is less about the sound of time spent catching marching bands Excerpted from Eve beads): Two boxes of and your feet on Crawford Peyton’s white cake mix, mixed blog, Joie d’Eve, which the neutral ground according to directions appears each Friday on makes Popeyes the MyNewOrleans.com and then divided into most perfect food three bowls and dyed purple, imaginable. green, and gold. Put 1 tablespoon (And let’s all have a moment of of each color into each cupcake silence for Hubig’s Pie, the lemon wrapper, bake for the time flavor of which sustained me indicated on the box, frost with through several Carnival seasons cinnamon buttercream (3 sticks in high school.)
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jane sanders illustration
