Embracing the heart of Cajun living

A lot of folks see "Cajun Alfredo" on a menu and think somebody made it up last year.

Mine uses Zatarain's boiled shrimp, cream cheese, and just enough Tabasco to make it Cajun.

folks gonna talk about you in the kitchen.

Baby, Nana don't do bland shrimp cocktail.

Baby, there are two kinds of people in Louisiana: those who put potato salad IN their gumbo, and those who ain’t been taught right yet.

Baby, this ain’t your hotel brunch Bloody Mary.

Baby, you can cook like Emeril, but if you walk into my kitchen asking for “boo-DEEN” or “rowks,”

If you grew up in Louisiana, you know food isn’t just food. It’s how we feed each other, how we celebrate, and how we take care of our own.

I’m Tina, Certified Aromatherapist since 2013. But at 6:30am, I’m just NanaTee with a box of Jiffy and a prayer.

1. BAMBOO BATH TRAYWhy it’s Cajun: Holds gumbo and sweet tea during a bath. Holds Pawpaw’s Louis L’Amour paperback.NanaTee’s Rule: If it can’t hold a bowl of shrimp & grits, it’s too dainty for Louisiana.Shop it: [link]

If your gumbo pot is missing that earthy, sweet, root-beer smell, you forgot the file.

Pawpaw planted 3 rows of sweet corn behind the house in Ponchatoula every May. By July, we were drowning in it. Corn on the cob. Corn salad. Corn fritters. But the only thing Mama made twice a week was Maque Choux. Pronounced “mock shoe.” Means “smothered corn” in Cajun French.

Baby, this recipe ain’t fancy. It ain’t healthy. It ain’t even homemade.

Baby, Nana used to be scared of beets. Not the taste – the STAINS.

If you think Avery Island is just a bottle of TABASCO on your table, wait till you drive onto that salt dome.

Most plantations tell one story. Melrose tells three — and they all start with a free Black woman who built an empire on Cane River.

The Myrtles Plantation is just 30 minutes north of Baton Rouge on US-61 in St. Francisville, Louisiana — and it's been called one of America's most haunted homes for almost 100 years.

Every time we head to the Gulf Coast, we make it a point to stop at Dat Kitchen Too at 714 US-90 in Waveland, MS. It’s not fancy. It’s not trendy. It’s just good.

If you grew up like me, boudin wasn’t just food.

I’m Tina, Certified Aromatherapist since 2013. In Pearl River, I’m NanaTee. And I found the hack that changed everything:

I’m Tina, Certified Aromatherapist since 2013. In Pearl River, I’m NanaTee. And in my house, Sunday means two things: church and something stuffed with boudin.

The Rougarou is Louisiana’s werewolf. Lives in the swamp. Hunts bad kids and people who don’t pack bug spray.

But after 30 years of marriage and 3 grandkids who believe TikTok, I lost that fight somewhere between Vacherie and Honey Island Swamp.

New Orleans is more than Bourbon Street. This is how locals do it. Follow this order and you'll walk 6 miles instead of 12.

Pawpaw said the best boudin in Louisiana ain’t at a restaurant. It’s at a gas station in Scott. With a handwritten sign. And cracklins in the back. If you’re driving I-10, you’re doing the Boudin Trail whether you know it or not.

Baby, you can’t say you’ve done Louisiana till you’ve driven River Road at golden hour.

Baby, you can cook like Emeril, but if you walk into my kitchen asking for “boo-DEEN” or “rowks,”

If you grew up in Louisiana, you know food isn’t just food. It’s how we feed each other, how we celebrate, and how we take care of our own.

I’m Tina, Certified Aromatherapist since 2013. But at 6:30am, I’m just NanaTee with a box of Jiffy and a prayer.

1. BAMBOO BATH TRAYWhy it’s Cajun: Holds gumbo and sweet tea during a bath. Holds Pawpaw’s Louis L’Amour paperback.NanaTee’s Rule: If it can’t hold a bowl of shrimp & grits, it’s too dainty for Louisiana.Shop it: [link]

If your gumbo pot is missing that earthy, sweet, root-beer smell, you forgot the file.

Pawpaw planted 3 rows of sweet corn behind the house in Ponchatoula every May. By July, we were drowning in it. Corn on the cob. Corn salad. Corn fritters. But the only thing Mama made twice a week was Maque Choux. Pronounced “mock shoe.” Means “smothered corn” in Cajun French.

Baby, this recipe ain’t fancy. It ain’t healthy. It ain’t even homemade.

Baby, Nana used to be scared of beets. Not the taste – the STAINS.