2 pounds shrimp (26-30 or 31-40 count)

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup chopped zucchini

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 cups cooked rice

Thaw shrimp if frozen. Peel, clean, and rinse shrimp. In 10-inch fry pan melt butter; blend in flour. Add onion, celery, red and green pepper, zucchini, green onion, parsley, and garlic. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Gradually add water. Stir in lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Push vegeables to one side of pan. Add shrimp to pan; spoon vegetables over shrimp. Cover and simmer for approximately 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink and tender. Serve over rice.

Notebook...

Etouffee is a method of cooking something smothered in a blanket of chopped vegatables, over a low flame in a tightly covered vessel - popular in Louisiana Cajun country for preparing crawfish or shrimp. The exact recipe depends on the cook. As a local proverb has it, "each cook knows his own pot best."