Creole Thanks

An old oak tree downed by Hurricane Katrina destroyed the home of Jessie and Sherry Krummel. Looters took everything else. But despite their misfortunes, the Krummels have been cooking dinner once a week since the beginning of October for soldiers and volunteers protecting New Orleans neighborhoods, paying for much of the food out of their own pockets. Krummel and a handful of volunteers cooked a Creole Thanksgiving dinner for the troops, with nine fried turkeys injected with a butter marinade, homemade dirty rice, beans with ham hocks and fried green beans, along with swamp tea -- a special blend of tea with a splash of alcohol. "I tell them the secret is I get the water out of a ditch," Krummel said, estimating he's spent at least $8,000 cooking weekly dinners of red beans and rice, chili with andouille sausage, and boiled shrimp and potatoes. An outdoors store donated cooking equipment, and Zatarain's, a maker of traditional Louisiana foods, gave him rice and spices. "They're here for us," Krummel said. "Why can't we do something for them?"
-- Associated Press