Jambalaya Joy

A few weeks ago I took a trip to the Deep South by finding myself in the lower cafeteria.  There I discovered that Jambalaya was on the menu.  I could almost hear the zydeco music playing as I smelled the aroma of Cajun spices drifting up from my dish.

For those readers who are unfamiliar with Jambalaya, the word itself is Creole for “jumbled,” which pretty much explains the ingredients in this dish.  Rice, green peppers, celery, onions, Andouille sausage, parsley, tomatoes, Cajun spices, and whatever meat happens to be available, whether it be alligator, shrimp, or chicken.  In this instance I was slightly disappointed to find that it was chicken (not that I don’t like chicken, but rather because I have always wanted to try alligator), but I was still excited about having some good Southern food.  The jumbled ingredients are slowly stewed and stirred in a large pot, preferably cast-iron, until they form a thick casserole-like dish which is then served hot.

I found the VIU jambalaya to be flawlessly seasoned, with pieces of Andouille sausage, chicken, and vegetables that made me feel blissfully happy.  Happy enough to make me want to go home and re-create the dish.  Well, almost. I did find two very large pieces of boiled chicken skin in the gumbo which I am confident were not part of the recipe.  That aside, I loved everything else about it and am now hunting down my own jambalaya recipe, some zydeco music, and a store that sells alligator meat.

On a side note, I would like to acknowledge one culinary student in particular for his fabulous customer service recently.  On one occasion, while I was ordering lunch, I noticed that one cook was going out of his way to be fast, friendly, and very courteous to all of his customers.  Many years ago this kind of behavior was the norm, but in this day and age of DIY yogurt bars and self-serve gas stations, this kind of customer service is a rarity.  Special recognition goes to student chef Cameron for his great attitude in such a high-stress occupation.  Gordon Ramsay could learn a lot from Cameron’s first-rate example.

Raising the Nanaimo Bar

I have to admit that I have been postponing trying the VIU version of the Nanaimo bar for several months now.  After all, this city takes its Nanaimo Bars quite seriously.  A stroll through the Nanaimo museum, a tour of the Nanaimo Bar Trail, or even a news story about a grocery store that makes a dessert that is eight feet long by 3 feet wide sets a high standard.  We have proven repeatedly in our city that we love Nanaimo Bars.  There is a lot of pressure on the baking students at VIU to produce the perfect Nanaimo bar, and thus there is a lot of pressure on me to give a thorough review.  With the semester winding to a close, I gathered up all my courage and bought a strawberry Nanaimo bar from the cafeteria.

I have noticed that our students like to experiment with Nanaimo bar flavours.  I recall seeing a hazelnut Nanaimo bar in the cafeteria last month, and at Christmastime the baking students were selling peppermint Nanaimo bars to help fund their trip to France.  The strawberry Nanaimo bar caught my attention, however, as strawberries are my favorite food. 

The bottom crust of this Nanaimo bar was chocolaty and crunchy.  I tasted cocoa, coconut, and nuts, as anyone would expect from a Nanaimo bar.  I did not taste any strawberry in the bottom crust; however, I still had two more layers to go so I felt that I must persevere.  This was for a review, after all.  Another bite revealed the next layer: custard icing that was yellow, creamy, and offered just the right amount of sweetness to contrast with the cocoa.  Again, however, I did not taste any strawberry.  Finally, I took a bite of the smooth chocolate ganache layer on top and waited for it to melt in my mouth.  Like the rest of the Nanaimo bar, it was delicious, but again I didn’t taste any strawberries.  

Perplexed as to why a strawberry Nanaimo bar didn’t taste like strawberries, I slowly ate half the bar, searching for that strawberry flavour.  Alas, I found a hint of it in only one bite.  I decided that, perhaps, the problem was that the treat needed to come to room temperature in order to bring out the flavors, so I saved the other half of the Nanaimo bar for later.  Two hours later it had reached room temperature and I slowly ate the other half.  While the chocolate certainly tasted better at room temperature, I still did not taste strawberry.  I was disappointed.

In spite of the fact that the strawberry Nanaimo bar did not live up to its description, I still would recommend trying all the Nanaimo bars that the baking students create.  After all, these students are daily being challenged to come up a new Nanaimo bar recipe that will impress the people of Nanaimo, and it is our duty as citizens to step up to the plate and help them reach that goal.