Jambalaya

Recently, when going through recipes with Mom, we came across this recipe. Mom said she made this jambalaya all the time. To be honest, I did not recall this recipe until I tasted it. It is funny how certain taste memories stay with us.

Mom's jambalaya is not exactly traditional jambalaya. I suspect Louisiana natives would not even consider this dish a true jambalaya. But my understanding is that "jambalaya" means "mishmash," so I guess just about anything goes. There are many variations on jambalaya, and this recipe is Mom's.

The recipe is simple and flexible. It is easy to add additional ingredients or leave out ones that you do not want. For this batch, I used only crab and no shrimp. Also, I had plum tomatoes on hand, so I used 5 because they were on the smaller side. I used dried parsley because that is what I had on hand; but I bet fresh parsley would be delicious. Mom's recipe called for Accent seasoning, but I substituted Lawry's seasoning salt.

Jambalaya

• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• Parsley
• 1 to 2 heads garlic, minced
• 3 tomatoes, cubed
• Seasoning (Lawry's, Accent, etc.)
• Parsley, to taste
• 2 cans crab meat or shrimp
• 3 cups cooked rice

Saute onions in the butter until tender. Blend in the flour. Season with parsley and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add seasoning and tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add crab and/or shrimp. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cooked rice. Enjoy!

When I say jambalaya, I say it just like Newman.