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Growing up in Louisiana

Today’s post is a guest blog written by one of our sweet friends, Amy. We met Amy through our freezer meal club and both instantly were excited to meet another Louisianan living in Texas. Amy and her husband Scott both went to LSU and Amy grew up in Slidell.

This is a tribute to growing up in Louisiana, where we had bayous in my neighborhood, crawfish/seafood boils like crazy, everyone bleeds purple and gold & the culture is like no other. You can take the girl out of Louisiana, but not the Louisiana out of the girl!

Louisiana Vocabulary…. For all our friends in Houston, who are from all over the U.S.
Geaux (Go)– A word people don’t know how to pronounce or the definition. Means go, as in geaux tigers!

Parish- Where you live…. Instead of county!

Café au Lait (kah-fay-oh-lay)- Coffee with steamed milk.

Pirogue (pee-row)- A Cajun canoe.

Lagniappe (lan-yap)- This word is Cajun for something extra…. Bonus!

Levee (le-vee)- An embankment built to keep a river from overflowing. (What broke in New Orleans after Katrina hit).

Laissez les bon temps rouler
(lay-zay lay bon ton rule-ay )-Let the good times roll! Said often for any fun time.

Fais do-do (fay doe doe)- Name for a Cajun dance party. We actually had one of these for our 8th grade end of year party.

Praline (praw-leen)- A New Orleans tradition … candy made of sugar, cream and pecans.

Vieux Carre (voo ca-ray)- French for old quarter. Used to refer to the French Quarter.

Beignet (ben-yea)- Square doughnut, minus the hole, sprinkled with powdered sugar. Usually served with café au lait. One of my favorites!

Roux (rue)- Base of gumbos or stews, made from flour & butter/oil.

Sauce Piquante (saws-pee-kawnt)-Means “spicy sauce”; is a spicy stew.

Zydeco (zi-de-co)-Creole dance music.

Boudin (boo-dan)- Hot, spicy pork mixed with onions, cooked rice, herbs, and stuffed in sausage casing.

Andouille (ahn-do-ee)- A spicy sausage used in Gumbo and other Cajun dishes.

Muffaletta (muff-uh-lott-uh)- An Italian sandwich with salami, ham, provolone cheese and olive salad.

Parran (pah ran)- Godfather

Snowball- Shaved ice (nearly powder) served with flavored syrups. AKA-Snow cones or shaved ice to everyone else!

Doubloons (duh bloons) -Aluminum coins stamped with a parade krewe’s insignia and theme.

Make dodo – (Pronounced doe-doe.) Go to sleep.

Sha (shaw)- Term of affection…. Darling, etc..

……And some lagniappe for you!
New Orleanian phrases/slang-

Where y’at– where are you?

Making groceries– going to the grocery store

Went by My Mama’s and N’em–
Visited my mom and family

Axed– ask

Running the streets– out running errands

Chute-the-chute– Playground slide

Yea, you right!– Yes, you are right!

MY-Nez- Translated: “mayonnaise”

Tchoupitoulas Street (Chop a two’ les)- Interesting street name & one of the trickiest to pronounce–and spell!

Neutral ground- The grassy median area, separating the different lanes of traffic.

Alligator pear– avocado

Locker– closet

Carnival time– Mardi Gras

Who Dat- who’s that?
A New Orleans Saints fan
A chant for New Orleans Saints fans: “Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?”