Gumbo

There are certain foods that I absolutely love, but I hesitate to make them because of the work that is involved.  Gumbo is one of those foods.  In order to make a proper gumbo, you must make a roux; and not only a roux, but a nice toasty, dark roux.  Roux, toasty ones, at least, require standing and stirring while it gets nice and toasty brown.  This is tough for me because it's hard for me to stand still for long periods of time because of my knees.  Yesterday, however, I found some BEAUTIFUL okra at the farmers market, so I took the plunge this morning and made gumbo.  It is finishing cooking in my crockpot right now.

Chicken Andouille Gumbo
Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-andouille-gumbo/ 

• 12 cups water
• 3 pounds chicken parts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds okra
• 1/2 cupolive  oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
• 5 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely diced, reserve liquid as possible
• 1 mixed bell peppers, chopped 
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon file powder

1. Combine water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Using tongs, transfer chicken to strainer and cool, saving cooking liquid. Remove meat from bones in pieces.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add okra and cook until no longer sticky, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes; set aside.
3. Stir flour and remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until deep golden brown, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Add 4 cups reserved chicken cooking broth, okra, andouille sausage, tomatoes with their juices, bell peppers, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker and cook, covered, on HIGH for 1 hour. 
4. Spoon off any fat from surface of gumbo. Add chicken and file powder to gumbo.  Cover and cook, covered, for 1 more hour on HIGH.  Serve over hot rice or quinoa.

I Love Jambalaya!

My favorite recipe used to be ratatouille but it no longer fits into my diet as a main dish anymore. In an attempt to find a dish which allows me vegetables, but also has enough protein, I discovered jambalaya. I love the complete flavors, but most jambalaya is made with rice and I don't get along with rice anymore. However, there's this great grain called quinoa which doesn't expand in my stomach like rice does. But the other wonderful thing about quinoa is that it is a complete protein so, it lets me get my carb fix without overfilling me AND helps me make my protein quota.

 Andouille Quinoa Jambalaya

•  2 cups quinoa, dry
•  2 cups water
•  1 medium green pepper*
•  1 medium red pepper*
•  2 cans Rotel
•  1 cup salsa
•  2 links andouille sausage*
•  1 tsp areole seasoning
•  3 cloves garlic*
•  1 tsp ground cumin

 Place all ingredients into rice cooker bowl. Set rice cooker to porridge and press cook. When done cooking, fluff with a fork.

 *CSA ingredients

Beans and Kale

Today's soup helps me to use up a couple items I generally have trouble using up. The original recipe calls for white beans, but I figured it would taste just as good with black truth beans. Actually, now that it's done, I kind of like the contrast with the green kale. I was a little worried when I woke this morning because this soup looks a little plain without the kale, but I tasted it before adding the kale and it's quite tasty. I also want to note that I did not have celery, but I had a beautiful bunch of but greens. The stems have the same texture as celery and cook about the same. I substituted the stems for the celery and that worked very nicely.

 Sausage Bean Soup with Kale
 Adapted from: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-white-bean-soup-with-andouille-and-collards-00000000052371/index.html

• 1  pound  dried beans* (I used black turtle beans)
• 1/2  pound  andouille sausage links*, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 
• 1  large onion*, chopped 
• 1 bunch stems from beets*, chopped
• 8  cups  homemade chicken stock*
• 1  bunch  kale*, stems discarded and leaves cut into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups) 
• 1  tablespoon  red wine vinegar 
• kosher salt and black pepper 

1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beans, sausage, onion, and beet stems. Add the broth and stir to combine.
2. Cover and cook until the beans are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
3. Twenty minutes before serving, add the kale, cover, and cook until the greens are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper, as needed.

  * CSA ingredients