Written by The Independent Staff
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
BIG ORANGE BASKET
If you're a committed bag lady, the kind who insists on grocery ...
CAJUN VRAI
Happy birthday, D.L. Menard!
GETTING YOUR GOAT
Dene Blanchard, a clerk at Sandra's Café and Health Food on Rena Drive, ...
BIG ORANGE BASKET
If you're a committed bag lady, the kind who insists on grocery shopping with a motley collection of canvas and string bags that invariably get left behind on the kitchen doorknob, this big basket may be a game changer. Tomatoes, cukes, a head of Boston lettuce, a cluster of grapes, slices of prosciutto, a wedge of manchego, a bottle of Tavel, a baguette and thou - everything fits, nothing gets crushed, whether it's a run to the store, a picnic in the backseat or a trip to the beach. In blueberry, raspberry and orange, $12.99 at Fresh Market. Call 216-4503 for more info. - Mary Tutwiler
CAJUN VRAI
Happy birthday, D.L. Menard! Today, April 14, is the legendary singer-songwriter's 82nd, and what better way to mark the occasion than to get your hands on his latest CD, Happy Go Lucky. It's a dozen songs, all handcrafted by D.L. with the same tender loving care he puts into the ash-wood chairs he produces at his shop in Erath. Often called the "Cajun Hank Williams" for the country-influences in his songs, D.L. doesn't disappoint on Happy Go Lucky. As longtime musical collaborator (and LUS Director) Terry Huval puts it: "D.L. Menard is a songwriter's songwriter. He has that distinctive gift of painting a picture using the lyrics of his songs. His legendary 15-minute encounter with Hank Williams in 1951 was all the inspiration he needed to guide his craft." On his latest record, D.L. proves why he is one of only a few performing artists to have received the National Heritage Fellowship Award. Happy Go Lucky is available for $14.98 at FloydsRecordShop.com. - Walter Pierce
GETTING YOUR GOAT
Dene Blanchard, a clerk at Sandra's Café and Health Food on Rena Drive, admits to being more than hesitant when the first shipment of Whole Goat Milk arrived about a month ago. "I was skeptical," she says. "I said, That's not going to sell.'" Today, Blanchard willingly admits just how wrong she was. "We can't keep it in stock." While many people in the U.S. are accustomed to cow's milk, goat's milk is much more common in most other parts of the world, in part because goats are less expensive to raise and take up less space. But the primary reason the new milk is catching on here is because it's so easily digestible, Blanchard says, which means lactose intolerant people are usually able to drink it. A complete protein that also contains every essential amino acid, goat's milk is closer to mother's milk than any other food. And, it's great tasting with significantly less fat than cow's milk. Pasteurized but not homogenized, the milk is shipped fresh from WesMar Farms, a goat farm in Moreauville, and retails for $4.95 a quart. Sandra's also stocks WesMar's crumbled goat cheese with garlic and herbs. Call 988-0108 for more info. - Leslie Turk