March will
be upon us before we know it, and my thoughts turn to the celebration of Mardi
Gras. This year Mardi Gras will be celebrated on March 4th. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which refers to the last night before Lent begins on
Ash Wednesday.
Although I
have never personally experienced a Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, my
husband has, and he assures me it is something to behold. Steeped deep in
tradition from France and Spain, Mardi Gras was brought to the southern United
States by colonists. The celebration includes parades, parties, and lots of
rich food.
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| The mix that I used above can be be purchased at Old World Market. |
In New
Orleans today, no party is complete without a King Cake at its head table. The cake represents the three
Kings that brought gifts. They are made
of cinnamon filled dough in the shape of a hollow circle. It is then topped with a glazed topping and sprinkled
with colored sugars; Purple representing Justice, Green representing Faith, and
Gold representing Power. A tiny plastic or porcelain baby can be found inside
the King Cake. Some say the person who
finds the baby in their piece of cake is the person who furnishes the cake for
the next party. (There are also other versions of King’s Cake stories that may
be found.)
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| Bake the King Cake in a ring and then slice. The cake is a delicious yeast bread with a Praline filling. A simple glaze sprinkled with colored sugar completes the top. Delicious served with a great HOT cup of coffee. |
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| Our little Baby was placed under a portion of the cake, not found until the cake was sliced. |
Being a
person who loves color as much as I do, I loved working with the gorgeous
purple, gold and green colors of Mardi Gras, and learning a bit more about the
history surrounding this celebration. Let’s see…... delicious rich food, parades, bright shiny colors, and a lot of happy people……sounds
like a great time to me!
I hope you
enjoyed my blog about Mardi Gras! Please share your Mardi Gras experiences with us.
Wishing you a bright and shiny day!
Kathleen
Never been to Mardi Gras, but we were in the French Quarters for Halloween, and we're told it's a lot like it! One of my girlfriends from New Orleans, told us some stories and treated us to the "baby" cake a few times! Ask your husband if he took any beads??
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