Food, Family, and Fun

The first fun family thing today had to do with food - our cats are eating too much of it! So Brooke bought a "cat teaser" toy to help them with exercises. Here's Stewart doing one of his yoga stretches called "Reach the Birdie."

Libby is now demonstrating the "Whirling Cat Dervish" exercise - kind of like Spinning, but not quite. :^D She was really going fast! She would just chase it around in a circle - I put the camera on high speed for action and she was still a blur! That's one fast, fat cat!!! Note Delilah watching intently from the sidelines. But it was making Cosette sick and she was headed for her crate!

Two of the things you can always count on when Steve's family gets together are FOOD and FUN! Steve's family loves to laugh - a lot! I like that in a family. :^D

Tonight the whole family went to a Cajun restaurant with a dance floor and nightly Zydeco bands. Here's Steve's sister, Connie, and her husband on the dance floor. This picture makes it look like a very sedate dance - they were actually moving pretty fast to try to keep up with the bouncy, choppy beat of the music - and were laughing just as hard.

Steve's mom and other sister, Susie, took a whirl on the dance floor. All this after a full meal. These are some brave women!

And because a full meal of gumbo, fried and grilled alligator (yes, we did order that), on top of yummy entrees of crab au gratin or shrimp and oyster en brochette wasn't filling enough, we went out afterwards with Susie and her boyfriend, Mike, for beignets and cafe au lait. At the same little coffee shop Steve and I went on our very first date, almost 24 years ago! (Although it's not exactly in the same location - it was relocated by a new Super Walmart. Hrrmph!)

Beignets (pronounced ben-YAYS) are kind of like a cross between a donut and a popover. They are deep fried squares of dough that puff up and are basically filled with air in the center, like little pillows. Okay, so they are not so little. Three fill a plate. This plate just has two. And then, because fried dough isn't bad enough for you, so we dust them quite liberally with powdered sugar!

Cafe au lait is New Orleans French Market blend coffee and chicory with scalded milk. Mmmm.....the perfect accompaniment to beignets. And, no, latte is NOT the same thing. Trust me on this one.

The key to eating beignets is remember NOT TO INHALE WHILE BITING INTO THEM!!! This is very important. If you inhale, that big mound of powdered sugar will be sucked into your lungs causing you to cough. When you cough, the rest of the mound of powdered sugar flies off the beignet and you look like Puff the Magic Dragon. Here is Steve showing that even beignet-eating professionals are expected to get some powdered sugar on their lips.

Susie and Mike, showing the plate of beignets we did NOT eat. Susie doesn't like coffee and opted for the non-traditional side of milk. On ice. We'll just suffice it to say she's lived away from Louisiana for a number of years. :^D (Just teasing, Susie!)

Here is Brooke NOT eating beignets and NOT getting powdered sugar on her. Even though she was dressed appropriately in white. My children must not be true Louisianians - Brooke says beignets have too much fat. Perhaps she's not actually my child after all. (Just teasing, Brookie!)

Now THIS is my child! Enjoying a big cup of cafe au lait. Wait, I didn't order you that! Hey! That's MINE!!!!

Note that Morgan has powdered sugar on her shirt. She didn't even EAT a beignet - not even one bite - and STILL managed to get powdered sugar on her. On second thought, she must be STEVE'S child!