BY BETH DOOLEY
The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)
Spring is a season of surprises. Suddenly the asparagus appear, next it’s delicate peas, tender lettuces and fistfuls of fresh herbs.
Week after week, the farmers markets offer increasing bounty to tempt and delight
I’ll bring these market staples home to round out a meal: farmstead beef, chicken, pork, lamb and an array of locally grown wild mushrooms oyster, shiitake, maitake and my favorite, dark brown chestnut mushrooms, with tight, firm caps.
Mushrooms are one of the best plant proteins With their rich, deep umami flavor and dense texture, they make a wonderful alternative to meat
Mushrooms grow miraculously in almost nothing — rotting logs, decaying leaves, sawdust Neither vegetable, fruit nor animal, they defy culinary categories, and are unappetizingly identified as “gilled fungi.”
Mushrooms contain about 2 grams of protein per cup, with nine essential amino acids, making them a “complete protein.” They are packed with vitamins D and B, as well as minerals. Low in calories and carbohydrates, wild mushrooms are now being cultivated and sold locally in our farmers markets, grocery stores and co-ops.
A mess of different mushrooms make a delicious larb, the dish of northern Thailand (also sometimes spelled laab, laap, larp or lahb). It’s traditionally made with minced or ground and cooked pork tossed in a punchy lime-soy vinaigrette. Here, a variety of roasted local mushrooms replace pork in a vegan version of larb.
Roast Mushroom Larb
Serves 4 to 6. Recipe is from Beth Dooley. This dish, ready in minutes, relies on the wild mushroom varieties you’ll find in farmers markets, co-ops and grocery stores If they’re packaged in plastic when you buy them, be sure to remove and transfer mushrooms to a paper bag, then store in the refrigerator for no more than a few days. Wrap the larb in lettuce leaves and serve with a side of herbed rice.
2 pounds mixed mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, maitake, chestnut,
Who created the mural in N.O.’s Union Passenger Terminal?
BY RACHEL MIPRO
Contributing writer
On her journeys via Amtrak trains and Greyhound buses, Uptown New Orleans resident Miuna Mae has plenty of time to sit in the city’s Union Passenger Terminal and look at a series of painstakingly detailed, colorful murals.
“I started thinking about it more, and the more that I sit there, the more interesting it becomes to me,” Mae said. “Like the little details, right? There’s radiant women standing there.”
Her question: What is the story behind the murals?
The huge project is the work of Conrad Albrizio, known for his large-scale frescoes The four panels in the terminal depict “The Age of Exploration, the Age of Colonization, the Age of Struggle, and the Modern Age.” The intense, brightly-colored images of Louisianans are meant to encompass the state’s entire history, introducing the state to travelers stepping off the train. A whirlwind of boats, fields and people
from all the ages are crammed in next to each other
Decorating a sleek new terminal
Carolyn Bercier, author of “The Frescoes of Conrad Albrizio: Public Murals in the Midcentury South,” set the scene in New Orleans, in the early 1950s in a city recovering from WWII. Bercier said the city government, led then by New Orleans Mayor deLesseps “Chep” Morrison, commissioned Albrizio for the station work.
Bercier said Morrison wanted to revitalize New Orleans, and the terminal, complete with sleek design and imagery, was part of this vision.
“It was his (Morrison’s) desire to sort of modernize New Orleans, to kind of bring New Orleans forward,” Bercier said. “Here was this great transportation locale,
of rolls and remove all but ¼ inch of interior crumb; discard removed crumb or use to make bread crumbs or croutons. Set aside while you prepare filling
3 Heat 1 tablespoon oil and sliced garlic in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until garlic is light golden brown, 3-5 minutes.
4. Add broccoli rabe and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4-6 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cover to keep warm.
5. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
6. Add 1 tablespoon oil to fat left in skillet and heat over medium-high heat un-
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sesame-seeded roll. Spicy Italian sausage stands in for the thinly sliced roasted pork that is a three-day process at DiNic’s. It also includes savory tender slices of portobello mushrooms cooked with fennel, fresh rosemary and a touch of soy sauce. Shredded provolone goes right into the pan with the meat and veggies for a melty,
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we’re-all-friends finish Like DiNic’s, this recipe spotlights broccoli rabe. It’s a cruciferous green that looks like leafy broccoli, but as a member of the Brassicaceae family, is actually more closely related to the turnip. Its flavor is more bitter than broccoli, and the greens can also be fibrous, but the two veggies are interchangeable in this recipe. I used long, tender stalks of Broccolini instead of broccoli rabe, which I couldn’t find in my local grocery store. Don’t skimp on the pickled
and I think that was the real impetus. He tries to bring in a lot of modern buildings and industry and so forth. And the Union Passenger Terminal was one of those.” Albrizio’s murals were unveiled to the public in 1954, adding to his repertoire of works in Louisiana.
At that point, Albrizio’s work had been displayed throughout the state, seen in Allen Hall on the LSU campus, in the State Capitol, and on the side of a Shreveport museum, among other locations. Enamored of the city’s culture
Born to an Italian immigrant family in New York City Albrizio came to New Orleans through an architectural job in the 1920s, where he became enamored of the city’s culture. His first major commission was six frescos at the Louisiana State Capitol, and he joined Louisiana State University in 1936, becoming a formative member of the fledgling art department. Many of his earlier works were commissioned through the Works Progress Administration. Throughout his career Albrizio
til shimmering Add mushrooms and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released their liquid, 3-5 minutes.
7. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are well browned, 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low
8. Clear center of skillet and add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, fennel seeds and rosemary Stir in soy sauce and cooked sausage, then stir in cheese until melted. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
9. Arrange reserved rolls on baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.
10. Divide mushroom and broccoli rabe mixture evenly among rolls. Top with cherry peppers, if using, and serve.
red cherry hot peppers as a final flourish. They’re only mildly spicy, and you can’t beat that extra kick of flavor I used 6-inch sausage rolls instead of 8-inch sub rolls, so I had enough filling for five sandwiches. Be sure to toast the bread until it’s quite brown and crispy, otherwise the filling could turn the sandwich into a (still delicious) soggy mess. Wrapped in aluminum foil and reheated in a 350 F oven for a few minutes, any leftovers make a great lunch the next day
remained dedicated to the concept that art should be public and available to everyone.
Bercier described his earlier murals, like his Capitol pieces, as a realism-focused style, depicting daily life.
“His style changed through the years,” Bercier said. He worked prolifically for decades. “As the general artistic style changed in America, he sort of kept up with it.”
For his terminal work, Bercier said, he spent six months studying Louisiana before even starting to create larger sketches.
The artist died in Baton Rouge in 1973.
‘The technique, it’s amazing’ Art conservator Elise Grenier, who has restored and cleaned multiple Albrizio works across the state, described his painstaking approach and vivid color use, resulting in a product almost visually similar to stained glass.
“The technique, it’s amazing,” Grenier said. “It’s just like touching the wall of the Sistine Chapel.
It’s like a piece of glass or a piece of marble. It’s just extremely well troweled, really smooth, and just just real attention to the proportions, the quality of the ingredients and so on. His work is just so perfect.”
Grenier said the work was in fairly good condition, although she has noticed some areas that could be restored on recent trips to the panels — she herself has never worked on this particular piece. Grenier described the longevity of his work.
“It’ll be here forever, long after we’re gone,” Grenier said. “It’ll last longer than a little wooden shotgun like my house, or anything else. These will be here, like the pyramids. They’ll just last and last because of how well they were thought out and executed.” Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.
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feeling of cold sno-ball syrup on your fingers, the sound of crabs crackin’ between friends, and the taste of sun-ripened tomatoes on your tongue. It’s summer served with
PHOTO BY MONICA BELTON
Grandma’s Peach Cobbler
the baking sheet Drizzle
with a little of the oil and
STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN McCUSKER
Conrad Albrizio’s intensely colored 1954 murals of Louisiana history cover the walls of New Orleans’ Union Passenger Terminal.
Sam Houston Jones Park has natural beauty amid regrowth
BY CATHERINE S COMEAUX Contributing writer
Editor’s note: Catherine S Comeaux and her family spent three summers exploring state, national, and provincial parks from Louisiana to Alaska, to Nova Scotia, and all along the Mississippi River in between. This year she turns her attention to our Louisiana state parks to discover the natural beauty of the South less than a day’s drive from home.
Local outdoors enthusiast Becky Williams has extensively explored the wonders of the natural world — from the hills of the Appalachian Trail to the ancient footpaths of the Camino de Santiago and myriad trails in between. Her life of adventuring in the wilderness began in the longleaf pine forests of Sam Houston Jones State Park not too far from her childhood home in Lake Charles.
The 1,074-acre park was densely forested when Williams was a kid, and her family tradition was to rent the four park cabins for Thanksgiving each year The crew of aunts, uncles and cousins would pack a turkey and trailer a boat for an extended weekend of playing on the Calcasieu River Williams got to know this nearby outdoor playground and went on to spend many of her high school days riding bikes throughout the park and hiking the heavily wooded trails. The park landscape has changed over the decades — hurricanes culled the once heavily wooded area, 10 newly built cabins replaced the original four, and investments in the trail system have improved the park’s mountain biking potential since Williams first muddied her tires there.
In 2020, Hurricane Laura’s Category 4 winds toppled or damaged 80% of the park’s trees However, first-time visitors won’t immediately realize the loss. Beautiful
stands of cypress and tupelo line the waters, and hikers can still enjoy miles of shaded trails, some of which overlap ancient Native American footpaths that were once used as wagon roads during the colonial period. Remnants of the devastated trees have become one with the changed landscape — improving the integrity of the forest by providing wildlife habitat, soil nutrients and erosion control. Woodpeckers can be heard throughout the park taking advantage of the standing dead trees for nest building. Along the trails, unique ferns and mosses abound in the micro ecosystems created by fallen trees
Throughout the park, beginning with the magnolia alley at the entrance, visitors will see newly planted trees, which is part of the reforesting efforts made by the state, volunteers, nonprofits and businesses Live oaks have been planted throughout the camping area promising shade in the decades to come.
The campsite is well set up for RVs with hookups, cemented pads and driveways. Tent campers would likely enjoy the sites on the edge farther from the main road, but they should plan to visit in the cooler months until those young oak trees shoot up a few more feet. As can be seen in other Louisiana state parks, several prime camping sites are indefinitely occupied by cutesy glamping-style wall tents — all unavailable for use since Tentrr the tech company that oversaw their rental, filed for bankruptcy in 2023. These beautiful campsites remain in contractual captivity as they sit peacefully empty creating a quiet, people-free zone in the park which could be viewed as a positive in the busier times of the year when the RV, cabin and lodge sites are fully booked.
The 10 new cabins and lodge sometimes book up a year in advance, especially in the spring, but midweek reservations are often available. Located near the boat launch,
zation and dedicated themselves to developing the off-road trails at the park. Bikers can ride a little over 10 miles on the network of trails while, with the help of grant funding, the organization is working to expand that mileage to 20.
The “orange trail,” or Riverwalk Trail, is an easy ride that loops around the campground, following a bend in the Calcasieu River with a couple of engineered small jumps that can easily be rolled over
For the more adventurous, OKwith-potentially-being-lost rider, the Back 40 Trail winds through the woods crossing and sometimes paralleling other trails for about 3-4 miles with plenty of opportunities for root jumps and short down hills. Be on alert for a few spots where bikers will need to portage large downed trees. The low areas hold water creating a series of fun technical challenges.
Thanks to Lake Area Mountain Bike Organization volunteers, most of these muddy low spots have options to cross over on cement pavers. A BSA Eagle Scout service project has provided a bike maintenance station near the restrooms close to the Kids Trail
some cabins overlook the river while others are tucked further in the woods. Each cabin sleeps up to eight people and has a screened-in porch where visitors can enjoy a fireplace in the cooler months or fire up the TV over the mantle for a cozy cabin experience. Birdwatchers, boaters, paddlers and nature enthusiasts of all sorts are drawn to the park, but mountain bikers have embraced it in a special way A committed group of them has formed the nonprofit Lake Area Mountain Bike Organi-
