Art, Gardens and a Shrimp Boil

Arbor at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

The leaves are starting to change and the air is cool.  It's been the kind of weather that really makes you want to be outside, a welcome change from the hellish heat we've had all summer.  Yesterday was a perfect day for a bike ride to the Penrod Art Festival, held annually on the grounds of the Indianapolis Art Museum.  I love visiting the gardens there because the landscaping is exquisite: it has enough structure to give it a sense of design and purpose, but with a touch of wildness that lights me up and feels like freedom.  Sadly, the food at the festival is nothing to speak of, but it’s unfair to compare any festival food to that at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.  I’ll just leave it at that.

Eggplant Parmesan

After a full day of festivalling and a trip to Trader Joe's to replenish our dwindling suppy of wine, cheese and saffron, I really didn’t feel like cooking last night.  Derek was going to have to work today, so we traded chef duties.  He made some delicious Eggplant Parmesan with gorgeous, shiny purple eggplants from our garden.  We had some leftover homemade tomato sauce that he had made earlier in the week from our beautiful tomatoes.  It made a perfect sauce for the eggplant. 

Boiled Shrimp

Tonight we’re having a traditional Louisiana shrimp boil.  I found a place nearby that sells fresh heads-on shrimp, and as any Louisiana shrimp aficionado will tell you, it’s important to leave the heads on when making boiled or BBQ shrimp.  As I’ve mentioned before, my grandfather Boo owned New Orleans Imports, where Rex Crab Boil and spices were processed and packaged, as well as some of the other well-known brands of spices in New Orleans.  For many years, New Orleans Imports had the only spice mill in town, so he blended the spices for other brands as well.  It’s been many many years since Boo died, but I still use Rex Crab Boil whenever I can find it.  It’s still locally made, and it tends to be less expensive than the other brands, but much much better, of course.  ;-)  I like to use a combination of liquid and powdered crab boil, with a lot of salt, some cayenne pepper and some lemon slices.  I bought some really pretty new potatoes and some baby Yukon golds and I'm cooking them in the crab boil along with some fresh corn.  I’ll slice up some of our heirloom tomatoes and that will be dinner.  Yum!