HOMEMADE GUMBO // RECIPE

Minus the shrimp. Basically, I just made a pot of deliciousness in my 'new' cast iron.

The boyfriend and I have an obsession with cast iron, which was perfect because at his last job, he just so happened to run across cast iron all the time. The only problem - it wasn't always in the best shape. I had two skillets already, but he brought home a dutch oven and a baby skillet - the kind perfect for frying one egg or making a personal peach pie. YUM. We've had these for quite sometime, and since the boyfriend has a little more time on his hands lately and a new best friend in the form of my father who has all the tools a man could ask for (except for one, which I think would be the perfect Christmas/birthday present if I can remember), he recently started a little project of bringing these babies back to life. It took a little bit longer than our friend, who recently undertook the same project, and finished his (including the seasoning) in one day. But since we were working with a battery operated hand dremmel, instead of a massive steel wired brush, we were okay with it. Especially when we pulled these babies out of the oven yesterday and declared it officially seasoned and ready for cooking. But our big question was, cook what?

Neither of us had owned or used a dutch oven before this point, and we had no idea what kind of things you could make with these. Practically anything, we thought. But we didn't want to just throw some chicken in a pot, cross our fingers and hope for the best, so instead I looked up dutch oven recipes on google. Baked beans, red beans and rice, campfire stew - nothing was really calling our names or our appetites. We wanted something easy, but delicious, and also something that would be a true test of the cast iron oven. I pulled out my hand written recipe journal, just to skim through it, and see if I had anything that could work. And that's where I found this gem of a recipe, for Gumbo. I had made it before, it was vegetabley, easy, delicious, and just the right meal for a dutch oven. It was so perfect that I only had to purchase 4 things to complete the recipe, all the other ingredients I had already.


Okay, the wine wasn't actually for the recipe, but still deserved equal space on the shopping list.

Here's a rough recipe. Please note, this is just how I made my meal last night and isn't the actual recipe. Everything I make is adapted to the way I feel that day and the ingredients in my fridge (and cupboard).

1 bag of frozen red, yellow, green peppers and onions (I recently heard that frozen veggies have more nutritional value than any other kind. This includes the fresh ones from the grocery, because they are instantly frozen, so freshness is locked in. Even the fresh ones lose "freshness" because they have traveled so far to reach us. I'm not sure if I'm sold on this yet. What are your thoughts?)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil (just to coat the pan, when sauteing the veggies)
2 hot Italian sausages/kielbasa (The kind you usually cook on the grill. Take the skin off, throw it away, and then break up the meat. Use more if you have it. I used kielbasa because this is what I had. Gumbo typically has shrimp in it, but I didn't have any. Add some if you want, or add slices of ham, or chicken, or nothing at all for you veg freaks out there. Keep in mind though, a lot of the flavor comes from these sausages, so if you choose to replace them be sure to add additional seasoning and spices, as well.)
1 bay leaf
lot's of my secret ingredient (if you have ever cooked with me - - you know what this is!)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp thyme (it called for this, but I didn't have any, so I left it out.)
2 1/2 - 3 cups chicken broth (I use the reduced sodium because I'm a salt freak. I also like my gumbo soupy so I use a lot of this)

1 can kidney beans, drained

1/2 small can of tomato paste (I use a lot of this as well, mainly because I have no idea what to do with the leftovers)

1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (again reduced sodium. Don't drain this time.)

Put all this together and bring to a boil. When boiling add 1 cup of rice, reduce to a simmer and cook until rice is done. I use brown mahatma rice, which normally takes about 45 minutes. Be patient, hard rice sucks.

If you are a hot freak, try adding Valentina hot sauce or whatever is your favorite.

Enjoy with bread, toast, biscuits - whatever you have on your shelf.

WARNING: Things may get a little crazy when you make this gumbo while drinking a double bottle of wine. Side affects include wine lips, wine teeth, giggling fits, increased temperature, squinty eyes, inability to take good photos, laughter. See below for what the side effects may look like.