Gumbo!

There was a time many moons ago when our parents were high adventurers in culinary land. I distinctly remember a cajun food kick which included the making of gumbo and jambalaya. The jambalaya I was never too fond of as I am not a fan of [un-battered and deep-fried] shrimp. The gumbo on the other hand, became a family favorite. This old favorite vanished for a few years, forgotten in the annals of Lewis family history until a recent family reunion when I requested that we eat it again. This time, I was wise enough to get the recipe. I'll document it here and post comments with any alterations that I might create later on.

Chicken and Okra Gumbo
from La Cuisine Cajun
3/4 cup of cooking oil
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2 large onions, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery, minced
1 hen (6 1/2 to 7 pounds), cut into serving pieces and most of skin removed
2 tsp of chicken seasoning (our mom used a cajun seasoning blend)
2 3/4 quarts of chicken stock, chicken broth, or water
3/4 pound of tasso (smoked beef) (I don't think we've ever had this one on hand, you can substitute sausage. Mom uses hot Italian sausage that she cooks ahead of time to removed most of the grease.)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sweet basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp of onion powder
1/8 tsp of white pepper
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp of Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 tsp of salt
2 1/2 cups smothered okra (last time we used frozen; canned is also an option)
1 tsp of file powder (the label says it contains thyme and sassafras)
3/4 cup of chopped green onion
1/4 cup of minced fresh parsley
file powder to taste
cooked white rice

*In a gumbo pot or large stockpot (2 1/2 to 3 gallons), heat the cooking oil over high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Add the flour and stir constantly with a wire whisk or wooden spoon, making sure that the roux is constantly moving and not sticking in any part of the pot. (I find that tilting the pot from one side to another helps.) Continue to cook over high heat until the roux becomes a dark reddish-brown. This will take about 3 minutes.
When the desired color is reached, add the onions, bell pepper, garlic and celery. Saute over medium heat in the roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Season the chicken with the Chicken Seasoning Mix. Fry half of the chicken in the roux mixture over medium heat for 5 minutes, then remove that half and fry the other half for 5 minutes.
Put all the chicken back into the pot and add the Chicken Stock. Stir  until the roux is absorbed into the stock. Add the tasso, bay leaf, sweet basil, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, Tabasco sauce and salt. Heat over medium heat until the gumbo comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, then add the smothered okra and the teaspoon of file powder and continue to cook at a low simmer for 2 1/2 more hours.
Add the green onions and parsley and stir them in well. Cook for 7 more minutes at a low simmer. Serve hot in individual serving bowls with file powder over cooked white rice. Serves 10.

Rosemary with help from Nutmeg

Moroccan-style Chickpeas and Greens

So I saw this recipe for Spicy Moroccan Chickpeas and thought yummm... Plus we'd gotten both mustard and collard greens and I thought how that would be a great combination. So I mostly followed the instructions in the above recipe (I forgot to read the part where you coat the chickpeas in oil first and then coat in spices, so I mixed all the spices in the oil and then coated the chickpeas). I also used less cayenne since someone's heartburn acts up when things are excessively spicy, and cut back on the salt a bit. Also, I only used about 3/4 of it.

Then I sauteed the greens with some scallions and garlic, braised them with some vegetable broth, and then tossed in the rest of the oily spices. We served with rice. So delicious!

So delicious in fact that I made up the seasonings again the next night and used it on baked chicken (again with rice and collards). And then the chicken on a salad today.

Here's a list of the seasonings, for reference:
½ teaspoons Curry Powder
½ teaspoons Allspice
½ teaspoons Ground Cloves
½ teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice (optional... If You Have It In Your Spice Rack, Use It!)
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
½ teaspoons Cayenne Powder (or More... If You Are The Spicy Type!)
2 teaspoons Fresh Grated Ginger
2 teaspoons Sea Salt


-Thyme

Pizza Style Carrots, Iceberg Lettuce Tarts and other fine foods

Pizza Style Carrots

Serves 5

You will need:

• 2 carrots
• 10ml milk
• 10g pickle

Instructions:

1. pre-heat the oven to 220 C
2. whisk the pickle
3. fry the milk
4. defrost the carrots
5. bake for 50 minutes and serve hot

Yum.

 

Ok, so we found a site http://jamesoff.net/site/fun/random-recipe-generator/ You should check it out.