Muffaletta Pasta Salad + More Awards + Bayou Blues

After gaining 5 lbs. over the holidays, I've been on a veggie diet for the past two weeks and I'm happy to say that I'm now back down to my pre-holiday weight. Lots of salads and wraps and vegetarian fare, with a Cajun/Creole flair, of course. A cleansing of the body and mind is always on my list of New Year's resolutions and I like to Feng Shui my home, too and clear away clutter that has built up during the previous year. Here's is a fabulous dish that one of my dear friends brought to share for my New Year's buffet and it is out of this world, cher! Bon appetit!

Muffaletta Pasta Salad

 12 ounces rigatoni or penne pasta, cooked according to package directions, and drained

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 bell pepper, finely chopped

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, cubed

1/2 lb. cooked ham, cubed

1/2 lb. genoa salami, cubed

1 1/2 cups Boscoli Italian Olive Salad Mix (available at Wal Mart and most grocery stores) or online @ cajungrocer.com

2 tbs.'s red wine vinegar

1/2 cup light mayo

2 tbs.'s Creole mustard

1 tbs.or more Cajun seasoning
Salt and Tabasco to taste

  Combine the first 7 ingredients in large bowl and mix well. Combine the wine vinegar, mayo, mustard, and seasonings in small bowl,  and toss with the pasta mixture. Chill for 2 hours, prior to serving. Cest bon, cher! Enjoy!

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Awards

Now on to the awards! My dear friend, Eddie @ Clouds and Silvery Linings recently presented me with two prestigious awards . Merci beaucoup, cher, for the great awards! I am honored and will display them proudly on my sidebar. If you do not already know Eddie, he is a talented writer, comedian, and poet, and has two fabulous blogs, one for each of his personalities. He is as "canaille" as they come and if I didn't know better, I would swear that he is a Cajun! Cheers, cher!

There are three conditions to accepting this highly prestigious award.

1. You answer five simple questions - these appear at the end of this post. 

(concocted by Eddie)

2. You pass the awards to at least five or to as many fellow bloggers you wish, asking them the same questions or five of your own.

3. You accept the other award as a sort of Get One, Get TWO Free promotion LOL

So now on to the questions: (concocted by Eddie)

Please note: one word answers not acceptable. Expound your ideas/answers in a formally considered written response of at least two sentences. LOL

1. What came first - the chicken or the egg?

Well now, Eddie,  everyone knows that a chicken comes from an egg, right? So the egg would have to come first, right? But it came from the chicken! LOL

2. Which facet of blogging do you enjoy most?

a) Writing

b) Visiting

c) Commenting

d) Reading people's comments to your posts

I enjoy all of these facets of blogging. But if I had to choose one, I would have to say that I enjoy writing,  the most.

3. Runner beans - do they really grow clockwise round canes in the southern hemisphere and counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere - or is this a load of tosh, they grow either way wherever they are?

Hate to sound dim,  but what are runner beans? You Brits sure have a language all of your own! LOL

4. What attracts you most to the opposite gender?

a) A good sense of humour, lashings of personality, charm and lots of wit

b) He/She is loaded with dosh

c) He/She is romantic

d) He/She has a fast sports car like a Corvette

e) Good looks

f) A cheeky smile across a crowded room

g) Neither - please specify

h) Other - I cannot imagine an answer to this one!!

(Please note you cannot choose ALL because he/she does not exist! but if you choose a) I will gladly email you my telephone number LOL)

Oh he does exist, so I would have to say, ALL of the above, plus
h) Other- he MUST be an excellent dancer and cook!!!

5. What New Year's resolution did you make?

I made several, but the main one is to become an award free blog, after this post! LOL

And finally, I would like to pass both of these awards to ALL of my 246 wonderful followers! (links on the Followers gadget, on my sidebar) Please visit them when you find time.. Help yourself, mon cher amis! Ya'll are the best of the rest and I appreciate each and every one of you!!

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Bayou Blues

And for your entertainment, here's a little clip of some bayou blues that a good friend of mine took at last night's Birthday Bash for Lil' Buck Sinegal, at the Blue Moon Saloon, in Lafayette. Lil' Buck is an awesome, legendary guitar player, and was celebrating his 67th birthday, playing a gig with the one and only, Buckwheat Zydeco, on the keyboard. The filled-to-capacity, Boomer crowd was loving this hot combo! Crank it up and let the good times roll, cher!

Merci beaucoup for stopping by! Hope ya'll have a fabulous, fun filled, weekend!