LA Folklife Center seeks traditional recipes for cookbook
NATCHITOCHES – The Louisiana Folklife Center is seeking help as it updates the Natchitoches-Northwestern State University Folk Festival Cookbook and invites the public to submit recipes for consideration. Personal stories about the recipe are also welcome.
“Have your recipe go down in culinary history by contributing your traditional recipes to be included in the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Cookbook,” said Dr. Shane Rassmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center.
Sales of the cookbook will be used to support the annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival, a non-profit event.
“The Louisiana Folklife Center is unable to provide remuneration for recipes contributed for the cookbook, but all contributors will be gratefully acknowledged in the book,” Rasmussen said. “Please contribute by sending your traditional family recipes. The selected recipes will be added to the cookbook to be sold at this year’s festival.”
This 35th annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival will be held July 18-19 in Prather Coliseum on NSU’s campus. This year’s theme is “Tricentennial Natchitoches: Celebrating Louisiana’s Folk Heritage.” The event will include the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship on Saturday, July 19, as well as music, dancing, craft demonstrations, cuisine, narrative sessions and KidFest. Al Ferrier and Jo-El Sonnier will headline a two-day line-up of entertainment that includes a variety of styles of music ranging from country, honky tonk, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, bluegrass, and blues. Dozens of craftspeople will display and demonstrate their traditional work and discuss techniques with those attending the Festival. Crafts include beadwork, baskets, instruments, Pysanky eggs, bull whips, iron work, quilts and bonnet, whittling and needlework, wood carving, toys, dolls, paintings, sculpture, walking sticks and more.
“Cooking and passing down recipes through generations is an intrinsic part of Louisiana culture,” Rasmussen said. “We hope to include many traditional and beloved recipes that illustrate the richness and diversity of our state.”
Recipes can be e-mailed to folklife@nsula.edu with Cookbook as the subject. Recipes can also be mailed to the Louisiana Folklife Center, NSU Box 3663, Natchitoches, LA 71497. For information on the 2014 Folk Festival, visit louisianafolklife.nsula.edu.
