Celebrating Summer's Arrival

It just so happened that Pie's choice for dinner this week turned out to be a great festive food for celebrating the arrival of summer. I'm still not sure what motivated him, my child who suspiciously asks "Is it spicy?" before eating anything, to request jambalaya. Jambalaya! His first choice was gumbo, but then he realized he actually meant jambalaya. Either way, the answer to "Is it spicy?" is going to be a solid "Yes, Pie, it is." Usually, we say something like "Oh, not very" or "Nossir, it is not." In this case, he didn't ask. He just took a big ol' bite. And made a hideous face. And blurted out, "Spicy!!!" His brother, who had doused his with Frank's hot sauce as with everything edible, concurred. I was too busy coughing from the andouille's spice hitting my throat the wrong way to be of any use. J saved the day, offering peanut butter & jelly to all boys who ate their steamed green beans. Both eagerly accepted, Pie letting his watermelon rest in his mouth until the sandwich ("no jelly, please. And, by the way, those are preserves, not jelly. No preserves.") was ready. We went on with our jambalaya and greatly enjoyed it, although it was nice to have the neutralizing green beans & watermelon along with it. While I can make jambalaya from scratch, mine is not as good as the mix I used. I used Tony Chachere's, with Bruce Aidells' andouille. Boot said, "Chachere sounds like an Italian name. Italians don't make jambalaya." I reassured him that Tony Chachere was a native Louisianan and probably Cajun or Creole, with a French name like that. And told him that yes, Italians do too make jambalaya!