Cold Weather Favorite

[bj taylor]

but bay, aren't you supposed to saut onions, bell pepper, & celery somewhere in this time line too? I think the big mystery to me about gumbo is the sequence of things going in & HOW to make a roux if the onions/pepper/celery are sauting. do you use file? how important is that?

steve, that place you describe sounds like perfect heaven to me.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I'll make sure to let you know how great it is next growing season.

Yes, we do have a food saver! The main reason we bought it is to preserve cleaned duck carcasses, don't know where we'd be without it! That and the chest freezers. (Although might need another with how much my okra plants produce. I really need to see if people will buy this stuff.)

 

[baymule]

BJ I have saute'd the celery and onions and not saute'd them. You know, nobody has ever tasted the gumbo and remarked, "Why, I believe you did not saute' the celery and onions!" As for sequence, I am no purist-it gets tossed in the pot when I get done chopping it. Make the roux, don't worry about trying to saute' anything at the same time or the roux will definitely burn. When it gets that dark brown, add enough water to get past the thick gravy stage.

File' gumbo. File' (pronounced FEE-lay for our nawthern friends ) is dried, finely ground sassafras leaves. It is to put the slimy in the gumbo and is sprinkled on after you dish it up in your bowl, if desired. If you use okra, the slime is already in it.

 

[digitS']

Wait!

Do you mean that you can make gumbo without okra? I thought that it was kind of that okra = gumbo, or at least, okra soup = gumbo.

I have liked okra in gumbo and liked it the few times I had it fried. Dad grew a little of it once and I've had it when visiting relatives in southern climes. Beyond that, it has been in canned soup, I guess.

Westerner Steve

 

[NwMtGardener]

I'm really getting a gumbo education here!!

So...what is the slime for? Tradition? Flavor? I've had sassafrass before, seems like a strange thing for gumbo, to my nawthern brain!

 

[hoodat]

Okra or file (pronounce fee-lay)but never both. The slippery texture it adds is unique to gumbo. The early Cajun settlers learned to use it from the Indians.

 

[Nyboy]

Lesa all my mothers recipes where in her head, when she pasted they where lost. I do eat a lot of can soup, I like chunky the best. It just so ez after working a long day.

 

[897tgigvib]

For some bachelors like me, Mrs. Campbells and Mrs. Progresso become like mistresses, lol, who do the preliminary cooking.

 

[digitS']

You can absolutely make good use of canned soup, Nyboy. Somewhere in TEG is my topic about "cheating" in the kitchen with "cream of" soups to make casseroles.

Chili over baked potatoes - cheese. Heather's suggestion.

I often have very little time for lunch - okay, that's in the summertime. It's still mostly on my schedule but I've got a 5 hour "window" and 2 hours travel time. Somehow, a stop at the house & lunch has to fit in there without leaving me with indigestion! I'm looking for EZ with no time for a nap in the Lazy-boy afterwards. There's good work to be done and it can't be all lunch and the road!

I'm thinking that a nice Shepherd's Pie with Chunky Soup should be just about as EZ and simple as mashed potatoes and soup - pre-heated oven and 30 minutes of bake time.

Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

There are songs where FILE GUMBO are lovingly sung about...