I don’t have any plans after May, but if I do happen to leave Louisiana, I will be a sad girl.

Why?

Well, there are quite a few reasons, but I’m just going to focus on one. And that one reason is CRAWFISH SEASON.

Springtime is the best time in Louisiana because of these bad boys. They make you forget that it feels like a million degrees outside (with 100 percent humidity). You can basically eat crawfish at any restaurant you visit. They taste like little pieces of heaven. They go perfectly with an ice-cold beer, good friends and good conversation. And recently, my friends have been boiling crawfish like it’s nobody’s business.

The boy’s roommates boiled crawfish Wednesday night. They were delish, but I have a hard time peeling them because I learned how to do it four years ago instead of when I was a toddler. Everyone made fun of me because of this. I’m getting better at it, though, and have successfully learned how to keep myself relatively clean while eating them.

(Note: Never eat boiled crawfish while wearing a white shirt. This decision will come back to haunt you whenever one of the tails or head plops down on your pristine shirt, staining it a shade of red and leaving you sad. I learned this lesson the hard way while wearing a fancy skirt and nice dress shirt).

Last night, the boy and I joined his fam at a crawfish restaurant somewhere between here and Lafayette. We all ordered 4 lbs. of crawfish a piece, and they tasted delicious. Mine were not too bland but not too spicy, just the way I like them. Because who wants their lips and tongues to be on fire after eating a few pounds of crawfish? Exactly.

Many of the Louisianans I know tell me the most flavor and spice in the crawfish is found in its head. When you peel one, you eat the tail meat. So if you want to get this flavor, you have to suck it out of the crawfish’s head. Sounds disgusting, huh?

I have always found this gross. I blame it on my weak stomach and the fact that I’m not a native OR an overly enthusiastic implant. Also, I am just not that adventurous. I DO, however, like to suck the juices out of the claws after I pull out the claw meat. Somehow, I find this a little less appalling. Weird? Yeah, I think so, too.

Hopefully, I will have my share of crawfish during the next few weeks so if I do happen to move out of state, I have had my fill. At least for this season.