Getting Cajun: Crawfish Creole

Hello All. I have decided to document my culinary adventures via blog. Hopefully this will inspire me to make food other than black beans and baked ziti. After seeing Food Inc. and reading the Omnivore's Dilemma, I have decided to go mostly Vegetarian, er, Flexitarian I suppose, so most recipes posted here will be in line with that.

Since Ben and I often get a hankering for some Cajun food, tonight I endeavored on making a pot of some Crawfish Creole.

Crawfish Creole
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced celery
1 cup green bell pepper
1 small onion diced
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
a couple dashes Worcestershire sauce
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1 pound of frozen crawfish tails
1 bunch chopped green onions for garnish

Heat dutch oven on to medium heat. Saute veggies in the vegetable oil until tender.

Mix the flour, sugar, cayenne, salt, pepper together in a separate dish. Add to vegetables and cook a minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaf, lemon juice and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil and turn down to low heat to simmer. As the sauce simmers, stir occasionally and add water as needed to acheive desired consistency. Let simmer for 30 minutes and add the crawfish. Let cook for about 10 minutes longer.

Serve the crawfish over white rice and top with chopped green onions. Add hot sauce to taste. Serve with toasted baguette or french bread.
Drink Selection: Newcastle Brown Ale (it's all we had around, but delish)