DONNA KEATING / L’Observateur / August 30, 2000

EDGARD – Cathy Holmes is an extension agent in family and consumer science at the St. John Parish Agricultural Center in Edgard. Her interestin people and cooking is what drew her into her position there. Her jobinvolves working with people and sharing information about family life, food and nutrition and conducting parenting classes. She also conductsfood demonstrations for the public, the AARP, the Council on Aging and anyone who requests one.

Holmes said the most challenging aspect of her job is getting educational information out to people and bringing them into the center. She added,”We try to help people to change to improve the quality of their lives.”As an advisor to the St. John Homemakers Club, Holmes provides thehomemakers with informational programs for their monthly meetings.

She also works as a coordinator for various cooking contests, especially 4-H clubs, and has taken part in judging the cooking contests. With about70 entries at each contest, she said she has been able to collect some great recipes.

At her home in Vacherie, Holmes enjoys her family life. She is the wife ofThomas Holmes, an industrial maintenance instructor at Louisiana Technical College – River Parish Campus, and has two stepchildren, Jennifer, 16, and Austin, 23.

Her family is currently in the process of building a new Acadian style home on their farm, Tom Cat Farm. She said it’s a huge project sincethey’re doing most of the work themselves.

They also keep busy caring for their horse, chickens, dogs and cats. Holmesadded, “The chickens have become more like pets to us; some of them even have names. Even though many of the chickens are old, they still providefresh eggs for our family and we also share the eggs with our neighbors.

Our neighbors return the favor by sharing their homegrown vegetables with us. In fact, I usually don’t have to buy vegetables when I go shopping.”Holmes said they live by the season, with her family eating whatever is in season.

In the summer she picks blackberries along the river and mulberries wherever she can find them. She likes to sweeten them by adding sugar tothem. Holmes suggests using turbino sugar and cane sugar because shethinks it’s the best in the world.

“It adds a molasses flavor,” she said.

“When it’s sweet potato season I drive to Opelousas to see a farmer who grows the best sweet potatoes in the world. The syrup just drips right outof them,” said Holmes. She uses the sweet potatoes when preparing hermother-in-law’s recipe for Oyster dressing with sweet potatoes and crackers, a holiday tradition.

Holmes admitted her husband has a romance with French-Acadian. Once ayear they go to a place called Hebert’s in Labbadieville to buy boudin. Shesaid there is usually a very long line to wait in because it’s so good and in demand.

When it comes to andouille there’s no waiting in line for Holmes because her husband’s family makes their own.

“Seasonings are so important, especially in South Louisiana. There are somany good cooks and good food in our local area,” said Holmes. She alsohas noticed that from one town to the next people prepare things a little differently.

Though Holmes enjoys cooking with lots of different herbs and spices, her family prefers traditional Cajun seasonings. When she cooks with herbsand spices that her family is not accustomed to they call that “fancy cooking.” Holmes also tries to cook without a lot of fat. She makes her roux withoutfat by cooking it in the microwave or on the stovetop without the oil. Shesaid it takes about the same amount of time.

Holmes likes to taste new things and ask people questions about their cooking. She likes to get the recipes when she tastes something she likes.”Sharing recipes is like sharing a part of yourself, and when you prepare that recipes it’s like having them there. It’s so much fun,” said Holmes.Sometimes strange things happen in the kitchen. Holmes recalled the timewhen she made sweet potato bread, she calls it her harvest bread. Whenher sister-in-law, Suzanne Mastainich of LaPlace, had a piece of it she asked Holmes if it was ticket bread. Holmes asked her why, and Suzannereplied, “I found an LSU football ticket stub in my piece of bread.”Holmes remembered the ticket stub lying on the table where she was preparing the bread, and somehow that’s where it ended up.

Here are some recipes Holmes would like to share:

SHRIMP QUICHE

1/2 stick butter 1 onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1/2 large bell pepper, chopped 1 tbsp. minced garlic1/2 cup chopped green onion tops 1 cup cleaned shrimp 4 eggs, beaten 1 cup shredded cheese (or cream cheese, Muenster, Monterey Jack or cheddar) 2/3 cup milk salt, to taste cayenne pepper, to taste white pepper, to taste garlic powder, to taste white wine, to taste Worcestershire, to taste marjoram, to taste 1 prepared pie shell

Melt butter in fry pan. Saute onion, celery, bell pepper, and green oniontops. Add shrimp, saute until pink. Turn heat off. Mix eggs with cheese,milk and seasonings. Add to shrimp mixture. Place mixture in prepared pieshell. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and mixture is set, about 45minutes. (May use any type of seafood desired.)

BLACKBERRY COBBLER

2 qts. blackberries2 cups sugar 1 tbsp. flour2 tbsps. butterbiscuit dough

Mix blackberries with sugar and let set about one hour; cook on medium- low heat until mixture is clear or until it reaches 220 degrees. Cool. Mixsome of the blackberries juice with the flour and add this to the blackberries mixing well. Roll biscuit dough out to 1/4-inch thickness; cutinto strips. Spray 2 inches deep baking dish with non-fat spray. Lay afourth of the strips in the bottom; add a third of the butter. Repeat thisprocedure two more times and top with remaining dough. Bake at 375degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Makeseight servings.

SPINACH CHEESE PIE

Non-fat cooking spray 1 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms 1 pack chopped frozen spinach, squeezed dry 3 ounces lite cream cheese, at room temperature 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg1/4 tsp. white pepper1 tsp. Cajun seasoning1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese 1 prepared pie shell

Spray frying pan; add chopped onions and cook until transparent. Sautemushrooms. In a bowl, mix softened cream cheese and milk. Mix in breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and beaten eggs. Add spinach and onions andmushrooms. Add spices and seasonings. Place mixture in pie shell. Topwith grated cheese. If desired sprinkle nutmeg over top. Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degree andbake for additional 30 minutes. Makes six servings.

BAKED SWEET POTATOES

4 sweet potatoes (boiled and mashed) to make 3 cups 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp. vanilla1/3 cup milk

Mix all well and place in non-fat sprayed 13×9-inch baking dish.

Topping: 1/2 stick butter 1 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup flour 1 cup chopped pecans

Melt butter and mix other ingredients together. Sprinkle on top of potatomixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. serves 10-12.

OYSTER SOUP

1 onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 1/2 bell pepper, chopped 1/2 stick butter 3 dozen oysters with liquid 1/4 cup chopped parsley 1/4 cup green onion tops 1/4 cup chopped celery leaves 1 pint half and half 1 pint cream salt, to taste cayenne pepper, to taste white pepper, to taste hot sauce, to taste garlic powder, to taste

Saute onions, celery and bell pepper in butter until onions are clear; add oysters with oyster juice and simmer for 10 minutes. Add parsley, greenonion tops and celery leaves; remove from heat. Heat milk to scalding. Addmilk to oyster mixture. Makes six servings.Back to Top

Back to Leisure Headlines

Copyright © #Thisyear# Wick Communications, Inc.Best viewed with 4.0 or higher