Gumbo and Jambalaya

There are many thousands of people displaced right now from their homes. Even with authorities and officials working at a frantic pace with volunteers from around the world, it will be some time before residents in even lightly affected areas can resume their lives.
I know that many are in shelters and temporary facilities, but there are also people staying with friends, family, and caring strangers all around the country. I gotta tell ya, hosting people from the New Orleans area, in particular, has some decided advantages.
My “second mom” is here with me (along with her menagerie of pets!) – and as it happens, she is an excellent cook. Knowing, now, that she’ll be able to return to her part of town (Algiers) in just a couple of weeks has given her the emotional space to integrate here. To my joy, she intends to stock our freezer with Cajun yummies.
To pull this off, of course, she has had to find the local grocers and shops, and get this!: she’s running into people she knows all over the place, doing the same thing! They have told her they, also, are bringing this key piece of New Orleans culture to the kitchens of families with whom they’re staying.
It’s a warm fuzzy (for me) to imagine Cajun recipes being cooked up in kitchens all around the country. Recipes and local cuisine may never look the same! (I think that’s a good thing!)