Gumbo for Mardi Gras

For those of us who live outside New Orleans, (ie North Dakota), having a parade outside, dressing in silly costumes and finding ways to collect beads (ahem) may not work well if your upturned jester shoes keep slipping on the ice and your mask keeps freezing to your face. Most cities will have their own Mardi Gras festivities, but you know what, this is a perfect occasion to invite friends and family you haven’t seen since … New Year’s. If you and your house have the winter blues , it’s time to inject some jazz and Louisiana Cajun spices into the air. Put the call out for a gumbo party!

Costumes May Apply

First, decide if you want the costumes. Come on, let’s make this fun! Nothing elaborate, most of what you and your guests will find may likely already be in the closet. Just look for anything purple, yellow and green. Or make one yourself.

An easy way to make your own costume is to find some sweat pants and a long or short sleeved T-shirt in one or two of the Mardi Gras colors. Use a pair of scissors to cut the shirt sleeves in long fringe strips. Do the same to the midriff. If you really want to go all out, find some craft sparkle beads and thread them through the fringes. Wear a short sleeve black or dark purple shirt underneath if you don’t want your kids peering at the lint in your belly button. Do the same to your pants, up to the knee.

Okay, now you look like a Mardi Gras hippie, and that’s okay! Don some beads, a simple mask with some feathers and glitter glue pasted on (hmm, craft idea for your kids), and you’re all set!

In your invitations, indicate what guests should wear, and of course have the option to allow simply a mask or even just beads to show the spirit. It’s all good! Buy a bunch of beaded necklaces (available at any dollar store) so everyone will be wearing at least one piece of Mardi Gras attire.

Gumbo Parade

Even if you don’t know much about Mardi Gras, you’re probably aware that it involves a very colorful parade. What you probably don’t know is that in the Cajun Tradition, the parade is a daylong quest for Gumbo ingredients. Costumed men on horseback go door to door begging for ingredients, and usually go through humorous tasks like chasing down live chickens to get them. This is the main event of the holiday.

I wouldn’t recommend introducing live chickens to your house (it just gives your husband that chance to quip about the pecking of hens), but cooking gumbo should still be at the center of your activities.

A fun idea would be for everyone to bring a surprise Gumbo ingredient. Make sure you have the essentials, a broth, and okra, but beyond that, anything goes. People can bring a spice, meat (already cooked), or vegetable that they want to contribute to the gumbo.

Make concocting the Gumbo the first activity of the evening. Throw all the bits and pieces in a crock pot, and call it gumbo. Let it stew for an hour. It’s sure to be tasty and surprising!

Other Treats

While the Gumbo simmers, be sure to have some other treats available. One dish that will be perfect as a side is called ‘dirty rice,’ a Cajun-style fried rice. It’s made by sauteing chopped onion, celery, garlic, green pepper, spices, and cooked rice together. It is not uncommon to use chopped chicken livers and/or giblets, which give it the ‘dirty’ look.

The traditional drink of the day is beer (who knew?) If you choose to go with this option, be sure to have a couple different types available. Try an amber brew with some spice to it, as this should compliment your gumbo nicely.

Another, more unique southern cocktail is Brandy and Herbsaint Milk Punch. Herbsaint is a liquor that tastes of anise.

For 8-10 people:

• 1 quart whole milk
• 1 1/4 cups brandy
• 1/4 cup Herbsaint
• 1/4 cup sugar

Mix it all together and serve it in a punch bowl with ice. You can add more sugar or brandy to match your personal preference. Have a small spice shaker of nutmeg available to garnish. This drink appeals to a rather specific taste.

If that’s not the taste of your guests, try a Hurricane:

For 2 -3 people:

• 3 parts light rum
• 3 parts dark rum
• 2 parts orange juice
• 2 parts lime juice
• 4 ounces passion fruit syrup
• 2 teaspoons of pomegranate grenadine or pom juice

For the kids, replace rum with ginger ale and orange juice.

Finally, try the classy 1900s Highball, the Roffignac:

• 2 parts cognac
• 1 part raspberry syrup
• Top off with club soda

Good food, good company, sparkly beads and gumbo. Sounds like my idea of a great party! You and your guests will be bringing the warm south into your home, and all will get a satisfying taste of the more rural Mardi Gras traditions. Enjoy, because Lent is the next day!

Written by Chris Molnar, owner of Themeaparty. Definitely not a native of the south, he nevertheless stumbles through the winter’s snow to grab gumbo ingredients and Cajun spices, then listens to Jazz while cooking. Check out his Mardi Gras party page for more ideas.

My kids come home all the time with stories that they hear at school. My friends and relatives forward me “concerning” messages. I even see questionable posts in my forum. But it’s not very often that I fall for the Urban Legends. Want to know my secret? Snopes.com. I am an AVID reader at Snopes! Every time I hear anything that sounds the least bit suspicious, I head right to Snopes.

For example, I saw on a professional forum the other day a story posted about a “friend of a friend” (as they always are) who was pulled over by someone posing as a police officer and did not know the special “code” that she should call to get the state police from her cell phone. The story not only criticized cell phone companies for “hiding” this important information from us but also said to pass this number along to every female you know. The problem? The story was a hoax and the number wasn’t even right. Imagine telling your teenage daughters to use the number and then in the case of a real emergency you find out that it was an urban legend and she should have just dialed 911?

Snopes.com is the best online authority for urban legends. You can search by keyword or subject matter or just even see what has been added most recently. They research whether the stories are fact, fiction, undetermined, or all of the above. So if you are wondering whether Sears was really advertising grills to cook babies (true) or if you visit the Cash for Clunkers website your computer becomes government property (false), you should check out Snopes.

Cindy has been busy revamping her Pet Connection site. It looks so much better! I think the new theme is more professional and a little easier on the eyes. She still has a little bit of work to do on it, but I think that you will like it. You can check out her pet blog here: Pet Connection.

Are you one of those people who puts off your taxes until the last possible minute? I’m one of those people who actually loved my tax class in law school! Although my handing out tax advice over the Internet would be in violation of some pretty serious state licensing laws, I’d still like to be able to help in any way that I can.

First of all, the mother of all tax websites–the Internal Revenue Service! Whether you are an individual, a business, a corporation, or a non-profit, you will find advice in both legal terms and layman’s terms on this website. You may even qualify for Free File, an electronic tax preparation service with online submission. 1040 Central has advice on tax law changes, files and forms, and fraudulent schemes. With IRS eFile, you can file your return online and have your refund direct deposited quicker than ever.

Parents have special tax needs and must know the credits and deductions available to them. The IRS Parents site includes information on the child tax credit, education credits (including the Hope Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit), child and dependent care, and adoption .

Need a little help putting your return together? You have three main choices. The first is paying a CPA. If you were going that route, you probably would not have been searching online in March or April for tax advice. So we will talk about the other two choices–tax software and online tax preparation.

H&R Block offers a variety of different choices. They offer a Tax Calculator and also break down the Tax Law Changes. H&R Block’s Signature Online Tax Product lets you complete your tax return online or with tax software. Either way, you can electronically submit your return to an H&R Block tax professional who will review, correct any errors found, sign and e-file your return at no additional charge. TaxCut Standard is software that you load onto your computer that takes you through a series of questions to compile your return. Although it does not feature the professional review, it will still help you maximize your deductions.

The main difference between an online tax product and tax software is that you must be connected to the Internet while you use the online product. You will create a username and password and will connect to the program through your Internet browser. Sometimes you will be able to download information from previous years or even W-2 information rather than having to retype it. While I personally prefer an online tax service, you have a wider range of options with the stand-alone software.

Other tax programs can be purchased from many different sources. Walmart.com and Target.com sell various tax programs.

And after all of this, don’t forget about your state taxes!  Visit your local library or your state’s website for state-specific information. Many of the programs listed above will help you file your state as well as your federal return for little or no extra cost. Whatever you choose, just make sure that you file. If you owe, you are better off filing and working out a payment plan than letting it build up and paying penalties in the years to come. And if you are owed a refund, why let the government hold it for one more minute?

After being online for four years, we have decided to try something completely different! Because of our love of WordPress (and our love-hate relationship with regular HTML), we have decided to switch all of Helping Moms Connect over to a WordPress blog with a theme that acts like a CMS. In the next few days, you will be seeing some major changes here. Please bear with us as we tinker a little bit. We have a lot of customizing to do to get things just how we want them. But the new site will be more interactive, prettier, and more easy to keep up with.