2-on-Tuesday Recipe: Crawfish Etouffee

For the past 11 summers of camps, I've introduced quite a few Tennessee youth & kids leaders, camp staff and camp evangelists to one of my favorite Cajun dishes which starts with the Cajun's "Holy Trinity": roughly equal parts of onion, bell pepper and celery! If the mini-lobster creeps you out, then, substitute peeled shrimp, instead.  

2 lg       Onions, chopped
1 lg      Green Bell Pepper, chopped
4            Garlic Cloves, chopped
2            Celery Stalks, chopped
1 stick  Butter
1-2 lbs  Crawfish Tails, pre-cooked & unshelled
Cornstarch
Cold Water
Salt
Cooked Rice
Garlic Toast

• Wilt onions, bell pepper, garlic & celery in butter.
• Add 1 cup of water and simmer for 20-30 minutes
• Add crawfish tails and continue simmering for 15 minutes
• To thicken, add 1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch to 1/2 cup of cold water (Note: Cornstarch will not dissolve in hot water) **Add more or less cornstarch to achieve your desired thickness.
• Serve over rice & with garlic toast!

As with the French, butter is the Cajun cook's choice! You won't capture the flavor with margarine. I shudder to think anyone would consider using that chemically-altered yellow smear. You can find a 1 pound bag of pre-cooked tails in the frozen seafood case in Walmart. To spice it up, we use Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. Beginners should take it easy.

During our years at Camp Jackson, I fixed a stock pot full of etouffee and a stock pot full of rice each week, sometimes with left-overs for the Crunk Crew (camp staff) to finish over the weekend! Happy kitchen memories of our summers in Tennessee Youth/Student Ministries! 

~"Sam"

Spoken Word from I-40

Earlier this year, Terry and I resigned as District Youth/Student Directors  for our state to change ministry direction and work with Calcutta Mercy Ministries & Huldah Buntain. Driving down the interstate toward our yearly ministers' meeting where a new student director would be appointed, the sense of closure was wrapping around me. I can't really say why I decided to tackle writing a Spoken Word nor why I went with an analogy of student ministry to horse racing. Regardless, I offer to you my very first --and unstudied-- attempt at this creative writing form which informally captures my take on redirecting our ministry focus.

Terry and I are (Destination)-bound

Laden down with gear and Gospel to be spread around

Like race horses pawing the ground

Waiting for the sound to release us.

Oh, please don't think we've forgotten our roots

Ready to shoot out the gate to some so-called better fate

Or high-paying plan

When man does not understand

It is God's hand

Which grips the reins, changes lanes

And spurs something inside us.

We've run in other stake races

And steeplechases in domestic and foreign places

Demanding much of our bit and bridle

And will intentionally set the pace

That ends this race with no arrival...still, glorious.

No doubt at times the grass will look greener

That old opponent, "Slewfoot," look meaner

And our purse seem leaner

As our hooves burn down the track

With sweat down our back.

No! We'll not turn back!

But, always remember

The beat of our heart

When first we did start

Youth Ministry

As we part

Will endearingly

And forever be

A cherished odyssey of

Never Never Land

to us.

It's 2-on-Tuesday! Be sure to stop back by at 2pm for a recipe I made each week during our summer youth & kids camps at Camp Jackson, where I was known as "Momma Sam."

~"Sam"

The FLIP-FLOP DROP! Kolkata, India

"God, where do I fit? How can I make a difference? Please speak to me." Can't tell you how many times these questions have been cried out in prayer by me. After we arrived back from India in January, so many of our friends in Tennessee wanted to know how they could get children involved with our new focus, Calcutta Mercy (CM). To make an effort or cause tangible to children, I've learned you make it just that, tangible or touchable. Certain my prayer was answered with the idea, I quickly pitched the  flip-flop idea to ministry friends who spun it with their creativity to form the plan and run with it! There were the questions as to how the flip-flops were to be shipped and of the shipping cost. God worked that out, too! Our CM Team Member was to accompany the founder to Calcutta the end of July. <ding, ding, ding> Suitcases stuffed with flippy-floppies from Tennessee, they were off...even through history's largest power outage affecting 670 million people in India, including Calcutta! The following are excerpts from the experience capturing both the heart & the moment...

The Assembly of God Tennessee district boys and girls sent LOADS of flip flops for the Calcutta Blind School...

But they weren’t just any flop-flips… they were texturized with balloons, ribbons, charms… all things the kids would enjoy feeling since they could not see.

There was a huge open space and plenty of room to spread them out… so why not let the the students choose the ones they want?

And that’s what we did. We lined them up and kept some nearby in a suitcase while we invited the kids to come down.

...the children shyly began coming forward holding each other’s hands…

When the girls first touched them they giggled with delight… Then the boys– they were like kids at Christmas! I’ve never seen such a frenzy when they realized what was happening…. and then the discovery of the suitcaseIt was so sweet– they were all crowding around trying to see which ones I hadn’t pulled out. (Which  they immediately assisted in distributing)

I noticed the boys had a pair of flip flops pulled out to the side and were crowded around… I have to admit I was a little worried when I saw the pair of light-up flip flops and wondered why  these were packed… was I ever wrong.

I was stunned to see the kids hitting the bottom of the shoe and placing it close to their eyes. (The director) explained that some of them have very little vision but can see flashes of light. These flip-flops were PERFECT for those who could!

Thank you Tennessee for helping bring joy into the lives of these children!

Now that you've seen some of photos from the blind school, please take the time to record your thoughts in the comment section below. And, if you'd like to know more of how you can help, visit Calcutta Mercy.

~"Sam"