Welcome to Keeping It Creole!⚜️
This blog is not merely a list of recipes, but a repository of traditions and memories which are captured in these dishes as I grew up in New Orleans. It is a very special city thriving on faith, family and food. The people are genuinely kind and generous as they show enormous hospitality to family, friends and visitors to this unique city.
My purpose is also to share the heart and soul of New Orleans and the love that is shown through food. The city has gone through many trials and tribulations since it was founded in 1718, but some 287 years later, on August 28, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the city and the levees broke. 1,833 people lost their lives. Many left to never return and with that exodus, much more was lost in addition to homes, churches and businesses. Their former way of life was swept away.
I can no longer call my mother to ask for a recipe, but she did not write anything down. So, I have talked to other relatives, tried some recipes on my own and made some mistakes. Creating the legacy of Creole dishes has been a long time in the making with finally publishing the blog in the 20th year since Katrina hit. This labor of love was created for the future to have a taste of New Orleans and Keeping It Creole!
Home is the place you are born
The place you live first
Even though a thousand miles separate us
It still hurts….
Those who had to leave
Still grieve
The stranger entered our home
With no respect for the house
That was ours and ours alone
Where lives were lived and children had grown.
This intruder forced her way in, destroyed all that was inside,
This intruder used force as was her way
Then had the audacity to stay
Penetrating the walls and all that was inside
Leaving a life of memories with no place to hide.
This bold uninvited guest
Which had no reverence
For the heart and soul that our family did invest
To make this our home, where we could live, love and rest.
Although the trespasser stole precious items that cannot be replaced
The memories of life, love and happiness cannot be erased
There is the pride of being born and raised here
And the values, traditions and culture, I will take wherever I go, that is clear.
Monique Olivier Getzinger