Friday’s during Lent brings me back to my roots in New Orleans. These memories permeate most because I feel they were such memorable family and community building times for me.
Every restaurant and almost every catholic elementary school had some type of Seafood Supper going on. Fried shrimp, fish, oysters, French fries, hush puppies, potato salad and even boiled crawfish was on the menu. If you were lucky, there was a dessert section sponsored by school clubs as well. Hopefully, you hadn’t given up sweets for lent!
I remember coming home after school and waiting to go back a few hours later to stand in line to order the savory seafood meal. I loved seeing all the faculty, staff and parents who were cooking and serving the food in the kitchen. Eventually, I would know how it felt being on the other end of serving when I became a teacher as well.
New Orleans is known for its’ seafood cuisine and the locals made sure to live up to that reputation.
Why spend money at Commander’s Palace or Emerald’s when you could get a full meal for your entire family for half the price, spend time with your family and friends in a casual setting, raise money for the school and catch up on the latest school happenings?!
I think the reason why I liked it so much is that it was a social event. Whether you went to a restaurant for dinner, stayed home and cooked, or attended your parish catholic school seafood supper, it all revolved around family or friends getting together to share a common meal and enjoying each other’s company.
Plain and simple it was just a good time for everyone! Not to forget the d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s seafood.
New Orleans, for me, is filled with rich memories of happy times with family and a community that I loved. I guess that is why since moving to Florida I have helped initiate pot luck lunches with the new faculty and staff at the school I am teaching at presently.
Even in the master’s courses I have taken I make sure to bring in a little of the New Orleans cuisine to help bring people together and share a piece of my upbringing. It is just a part of who I am.
Being a part of a community and family is important to me. That is how I was raised and it seems only natural to want to have that in our new community in Florida. I want my little ones to grow up with these wonderful types of memories as well.
We’re going to a church fish fry tonight. Will let you know how it turns out.
And so the tradition continues on a Friday during Lent.
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