Garth House is local “Beacon of Hope”

One of the unique aspects of Pour Les Enfants is its’ “street appeal.” I try to explain the elaborate tent with tablescapes and wine, where the yellow street markings are still visible underfoot. Likely you’d have to have been at one of the 34 benefits for the Mickey Mehaffy Children’s Advocacy Program to really get it. New on this year’s scene is spacious digs so new that boxes of office equipment were still on the ground. It’s a needed expansion. On Thursday, supporters “partied” around those boxes. Marion Tanner, executive director, writes that more than 17,000 alleged victims have been interviewed over the past 33 years. This group is for abused children to tell their stories in a safe space. Everyone agrees they wish there was no need for this group to exist. This benefit, with auctions and a positive spirit, unites the cause. People who work with these children and their families showed up to keep these programs funded. Between petite lobster rolls and stuffed flounder with sundried tomatoes in a white wine burre blanc sauce, there were donations that combined high-end wares with those willing to spend for a good cause.

I think I heard right… a doggie was auctioned for $8,000? Well, it was adorable. Someone got a Jeep Wrangler.

Silent auction fan? Big bids went to something called a Dark & Handsome Big Ass Candle. Also hot: foodie and entertaining goodies from locals such as Bando’s TexJoy and Fred Miller’s.

Take a peep at some of the gifts and service offered at the live auction and consider. Maybe you could get something together to benefit charity. People bid on packages called Whisky Business; Lakeside Oasis with nights on Lake Travis; Pipkin Ranch Waterfowl duck hunt (cleaning included) and an Astros package.

Feel you could offer other support to this group? Call (409) 838-9084 about volunteering. 

 Corn Pudding Pairing - Did you ever think to pair corn pudding with Riesling or Rosé? Ga Ga, of “Ga Ga’s Corn Pudding,” would want you to. Scalloped Potatoes ala Odds & Ends, is a delish way to mix up your left-over cheese and open up a red blend. Actually, does leftover cheese ever happen to you? “Sipping Sense: Uncorking the Flavors of Wine, Entertaining and Healthy Cooking” is Stephanie Browne’s fun book of family recipes. With some lessons, like recognizing bitters and salts, some fun times and darned good recipes, she is guiding us toward umami in meals. Mom’s Texas Cake is a rich chocolate treat, and it goes with Muscato or Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m telling you, this is food anyone can make and everyone will love. Good, but with ingredients that are familiar and will present the hostess as a wine appreciator as opposed to a wine snob. Cheers.

Hey Grandma! - Do you have a special order from your grandma? Mine would be her unusual sand tart chocolate chip cookies. "When Grandmas Cook" is a great children's book celebrating what grams around the world share, what they are called and some little bit about the dish. What a gift for little foodies! I'm sure Mexican abuelas in Port Arthur are making tamales like the one in the book. Italian nonnas make pasta with a rolling pin (mattarello) and flour (farina). Borscht requires a baba's kivsh (ladel) and sour cream to make it pink. Jollif, palak paneer, cornbread and mandu are other global goodies. Bottom line: When grandmas cook, they are saying "I love you" in their own special way. Margot Mustich wrote the words and Alette Straathof created the pictures. Remember to tell grandmas that you love them back! 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie warming up to holiday fun, friends and flavors. Share your seasonal favorites at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Pumpkin spices you haven't considered

 

Pie is just the beginning of pumpkin. If you haven’t been enjoying fall’s favorite flavor in soups, muffins and more, you may have missed a joy ride in Cinderella’s transformative coach. New books cover flavors from around the globe and even how to grow a pumpkin. Cook your décor and don’t forget to roast the seeds. Get spicy with these:

“Homemade Ish” – Her Chex mix has bacon. Sold? Turn the pages in Lauren McDuffie’s book on recipes and cooking tips that keep it real and you’ll get hooked on every page. Take short cuts and don’t be afraid to use can goods and store-prepped finds to get you started. The magic is in what you do at home. Mall pretzels use pizza dough. There’s even a buttery, toasted idea for combining all your cereal remnants. Gourmet and potentially very healthy stuff is in this fun one. Here’s the pumpkin: Pumpkin Patch Muffins with Salted Honey Butter starts with a can of unsweetened pumpkin and spice cake mix. Easy. Good.

Turkey in Pumpkin Seed Sauce - This mole has no chocolate and isn't three pages long, Beth Dooley and Gary Paul Nabhan write in "Chile, Clove, and Cardamom: A Gastronomic Journey into the Fragrances and Flavors of Desert Cuisines." This book takes us around the world and I want to stop and smell the cuisine at each site. Serve this "pumpkin" dish with rice or blue corn bread. Imagine the aromas in Sea Scallops in Tamarind Glaze and Desert Succotash (with cactus and cumin). Your desert pantry should may include legumes, lentils, almonds, pecans, caraway, agave nectar, fenugreek and cihiltepin. 

 Pumpkin Soup from Indonesia - Tinutan uses pumpkin or butternut squash, cassava, rice, corn and bamboo shoots in a soup, good for breakfast or lunch. I've never shaved the corn off a cob for breakfast, but I'd love to get a serving of this hearty bowl of colorful, fresh ingredients. Pergedel Udang is a shrimp fritter, Gang Asam is braised rib and Goreng Ikan Balado is fried fish with caramelized onions and chiles. Sri Owen has updated the artistic big yellow book "Indonesian Food" with newer ways, and I want to try them all. Lots of spices, flavors and textures will make you look at foods we have here with different eyes. 

 Grow  your own pumpkin! Did you ever imagine yourself taking a paintbrush to your male and female pumpkin blooms to pollinate them? Well, did you imagine toasting your own pumpkin seeds and enjoying fresh muffins? The all-new "Square Foot Gardening" 4th edition book will give you the know how. Maybe you crave rosemary, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage and other goodies from your small space? Build your garden with these easy steps with this book, labeled "The World's Most Popular Growing Method to Harvest More Food From Less Space." 

Let's talk tuna. One tip is to take an empty 1-inch tuna can and put it flush with the soil... when you water, you can know when you've given an inch of water!

 Tea Time – Salty Caramel Pumpkin Black happens to be my fave in a batch of indulgence that is extremely low cal, even if you are a sugar and honey type of tea lover. Get packets of beautiful herbals and teas packaged as Blood Orange Rooibos Reserve, Scarlet, Guava Gold, Rose Chamomile, Turmeric Ginger and Mumbai Chai.  Make it in a clear pot so you can watch these leaves and buds unfurl to flavor your brew. Feeling generous? I hope so. Invite friends for tea and review www.tearunners.com for gifts that will as peaceful as your after your cup.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie enjoying pumpkin with all the spices. darraghcastillo@icloud.com

What's in a LaBove Mug? A romantic sunrise water-side date!

 

What’s in a LaBove mug?

Listen to this tale of a perfect sunrise date.

Remember Jim LaBove of Cotton’s Seafood? He wrote all those books about catching seafood from Sabine Pass and getting it to restaurants? He’s been updating his illustrated Cajun Christmas cards with recipes and such, and he’s got his and her mugs in his line. That’s just because they are cobalt blue and pink. I’m a cobalt girl myself.

These mugs debuted at Port Neches Art Walk and the hottest cards were a Cajun Christmas Tree, Mosquito Elf, Santa Alligator and a baby racoon. He’s illustrated them all. Look for a recipe on the back of some.

Now, here’s how LaBove would fill a mug at sunrise.

What’s in Jim’s cup?

“For me, there is only one brand and type of coffee - that would be EIGHT- O-CLOCK brand and their 100% Colombian variety.  When I am feeling like doing something a little different, I will sometime put a teaspoon of hazelnut flavored coffee (again Eight-O-Clock) in with the 100% Columbian.  It gives the coffee a little touch of mysterious.  I was taught by my father, Cotton, to drink and appreciate black coffee but on days when we go crabbing, Dodie and I will bring along a thermos full of hot, Eight-O-Clock, 100% Columbian and a bottle of Carolins Irish Cream.  Just as the sun is rising over the marsh, we will pour ourselves a cup of coffee and a (big) glug of Carolins and somehow it makes the morning's splay of pinks and blues more vivid.  The marsh is home and having a good cup of coffee at daybreak brings back some of my best memories.”

Are you kidding me?

I want to go along for sunrise and this special coffee, but it sounds too romantic to crash an on-the-water morning date with his wife, Dodie. I take every opportunity to mention that she was a cheerleader for the New Orleans Saints.

Want your own mug? Next chance to visit with this family and purchase your haul is Nov. 14 at the famous St. Mark’s Chili Supper & Bazaar. www.cottons-seafood.com is your Christmas Cajun connection.

Racha Siracha Sauce – It’s good to be the king. “Racha” in Thai means “king” and I’m hot for the complex flavors in Racha Organics Siracha Sauce.  This authentic Thai Sriracha sauce grows its own racha peppers on an organic farm in Thailand. They say it is “multidimentional.” I say you’ll want multiple squeeze bottles for home, desk, car, friends…  It’s small-batch, gluten-free and vegan. USDA Organic-certified. Available at  https://racha-organics.com AND Amazon at $11.99 each.

Loving Foods, Planet –  When you want mango salsa and a low carbon footprint? It’s time for a new book that shows you it all starts with your fork. Our choices can help cool the planet, says Cathy Katin-Grazzini. This plant-based chef has a book that should be savored slowly. “Love the Foods That Love the Planet” is full of thoughts and recipes, including: Asparagus Recoup Soup with Crispy Croutons, Salad with Baby Roasted Beets and Citrus, Pretty Apple Packets and things that are new to me and very exciting. Let’s enjoy everything around us.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie filling her cup with stimulating coffee, warm pumpkin tea and cozy thoughts. darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Put on your gratitude goggles and keep them on

 

I hope you don’t wait until Thanksgiving to be grateful. “The Gratitude Goggles” is a lovely children’s book reminding us not to feel down for not having what others have. Instead, put on those goggles and be grateful for birdsong, blue skies and the people who love you. Easy, right? A little prompting helps people of any age. Andea Mendoza-Vasconez, PhD wrote this book that Rita Nilson illustrated. I’d suggest kids read up and decorate their own sunglasses with shiny bits and make their own goggles. Look around everyone, there’s good stuff everywhere!

 

Pour Les Enfants Beacon of Hope – The Garth House Mickey Mehaffy Children’s Advocacy Program, Inc. will host its 34^th gala at 6 p.m. Nov. 21. Join the fight against child abuse in our area. Text GHPLE24 to 53555

Gratitude Now! Here are some stocking stuffer ideas and more.

·        Make a date! Rock Point’s National Parks 2025 planner is good to go now. As in November is Arches National Park month and you can plan out your month on pages of orange, blue, mauve and yellow as sun sets on a Colorado Plateau of monoliths, ridgeline, rivers and high desert. This well-planned planner has plenty of space for ideas as you record your days though images of Acadia National Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite and more. Grateful for natural beauty? Take note.

·       Go Sour! - It’s the cans. Shiny round tins with a “press” area to get to the sours inside. I remember them, but from when? Billed as Retro Sours! They are harkening back to childhood era more recent than my own. The kids who loved them are now grown up, so fill their stocking with the tangerine, mano and citrus they’ll recall fondly. This is an Iconic Candy sold on It's Sugar: https://www.iconiccandy.com/

·         Schär GluteFree has three newbies in the line: Blondie Bites, Brownie Bites, and Mini Honeygrams. Wink: You don’t need to be avoiding gluten to enjoy these. Mini Honeygrams are can be counted for a mini snack that will sweetly crunch up you mood. These “honey-kissed cookies also come in on-the-go packs.  These are upscaled versions of your gram’s graham cracker.

·           “Birdsong” is a layered view book with Margarida Esteves’ art that will wow little kids. Thick pages with cardinals, mushrooms, flowers, robins and the like accompany a rhyme to inspire children to listen to the dawn chorus our birdies create.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready for all that all the upcoming holidays bring. Mosty family, friends and flavors. darraghcastillo@icloud.com