“Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer; than to remain a dupe to illusions all one’s life.” — Kate Chopin, 1899

“The Awakening” by Kate Chopin is perfect reading for March in which we recognize women’s history. Obscured for decades after its publishing in 1899, “The Awakening” is much more than just a staunch vision of female emancipation, but rather Chopin ultimately questions the very standards of society itself and the individual’s place within the world.

The novel opens on vibrant Grand Isle, a favored Gulf Coast summer spot for many New Orleans French Creoles, where Edna and Léonce Pontellier, along with their two children, are vacationing. Edna becomes enamored by the free-spirited Creole culture and the island’s dreamy, luxuriant atmosphere. At 28 years of age, she finally learns how to swim, feeling the exhilaration of newfound power and freedom, wanting to swim far out where no woman had gone before. She undergoes a profound sensual awakening, falling in love with fellow vacationer Robert Lebrun, who flees to Mexico to avoid a scandal.

Although the Pontellier family returns to life in languorous New Orleans, Edna has irrevocably changed. She questions her stultifying role as a mother, a seemingly inequitable duty that never ceases. Refusing her familial and societal duties, Edna moves out of her husband’s home, indulges in her own artistic talents, and yields to an affair with the roguish Alcée Arobin. When Robert returns from Mexico, Edna finds he, too, is unable to deal with her independence.

But Edna’s deeper desires remain unsatisfied. Her affairs have been the catalyst for her awakening to her self, not the awakening itself. Disenchanted by her life as a piece of property and yet realizing her situation, Edna Pontellier returns to Grand Isle in the off season. In one last, defiant and liberating act, she swims naked in the ocean.

Of all the tragic female protagonists, Chopin’s character Edna poses a distinct question the others do not, namely, can an individual be truly free and at what price? “The Awakening” is now a commonly read high school classic and is available at the Muskogee Public Library.

Food is highly evocative of New Orleans and plays a symbolic role in “The Awakening.” Following are some great brunch foods from Louisiana to awaken the senses on a leisurely morning.

CHEESE GRITS AND SHRIMP

3 bacon slices
1 pound unpeeled, medium-size raw shrimp
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Instant grits to serve four people
Grated cheddar cheese
Garlic salt

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 10 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in skillet.
Crumble bacon. Make instant grits according to package directions; while warm stir in grated cheese and garlic salt to taste; keep warm.

Peel shrimp; devein, if desired.
Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper; dredge in flour.

Sauté mushrooms in hot drippings with oil in skillet five minutes or until tender.
Add green onions, and sauté two minutes.
Add shrimp and garlic, and sauté two minutes or until shrimp are lightly browned.

Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice, and hot sauce, and cook two more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet.
Spoon shrimp mixture over hot cheese grits; sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

Adapted from March 2009 Southern Living.


TOMATO NAPOLEON

2 tomatoes (sliced thickly)
16 ounces bleu cheese
1 red onions
12 ounces bottle remoulade sauce
1 head iceberg lettuce, julienned
2 ounces apple cider vinegar combined with 2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Take green leaf julienne and toss in cane vinegar, add salt and pepper to taste.
Put 1/4 of mixture on the bottom of the plate, and place one slice of tomato on top (salt and pepper to taste).
Put 2 ounces of bleu cheese on top and layer with another slice of tomato.
Pour 3 ounces of remoulade sauce over the tomato and top with 2 ounces of bleu cheese. Garnish with shaved red onions.

Garnish with a garlic crostini.
Source: Dickie Brennan’s Steak House at 716 Iberville St. in New Orleans.


CHOCOLATE PRALINE LAYER CAKE

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup brown sugar; firmly packed
3/4 cup pecans; coarsely chopped
1 Devil’s Food cake mix
1 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs

Heat oven to 325°.
In small heavy saucepan, combine butter, whipping cream and brown sugar.
Cook over low heat, just until butter is melted, stirring occasionally.

Pour into two to 8- or 9-inch round cake pans; sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans.
In large bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil and eggs at low speed until moistened; beat two minutes at highest speed.

Carefully, spoon batter over pecan mixture.
Bake at 325° 35 to 45 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center.
Cool five minutes.
Remove from pans.
Cool completely


TOPPING

1 3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Pecans; whole, if desired
Chocolate curls, if desired

In small bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.
Blend in powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form.

To assemble cake, place one layer on serving plate, praline side up.
Spread with half of the whipped cream.
Top with second layer, praline side up; spread top with remaining whipping cream.
Garnish with whole pecans and chocolate curls, if desired.
Store in refrigerator.

Source: http://www.cajuncookingrecipes.com.