A Long Time Gone and Hawaiian Style Gumbo

 This novel, A Long Time Gone, by Karen White, takes place in the Mississippi Delta, my okra is getting harvested, and I was in the mood for Gumbo.  Life working in concert.  I'm calling it Hawaiian style because there is Ahi tuna in it, Kauai shrimp and vegetables from my Hawaiian garden.  Most traditional gumbos won't have fish other than shrimp and crab, but as Bob is picky about shellfish generally, I have been adding in fresh ahi to various dishes that call for shellfish.  So we're both meant to be happy.  Theoretically.

I do believe this is the first book by Karen White I have read, and will certainly be reading more.  She is an excellent storyteller.  Her novel involves a family where it seems the women always leave their children behind at some point.  They come back and often leave again.  It concerns the emotional damage and the danger of  relying on assumptions about the motives of others, frequently false assumptions,  rather than giving the benefit of doubt, until we know better, also the need for forgiveness,and  letting go of bitterness.

As the Publisher's blurb states: "When Vivien Walker left her home in the Mississippi Delta, she swore never to go back, as generations of the women in her family had.  But in the spring, nine years to the day since she left, that's exactly what happens --- Vivien returns, fleeing from a broken marriage and her lost dreams for children."

White weaves together seamlessly the family relationships, and Delta history going back several generations, up to and including the recent broken tie with Vivien's step-daughter.  Then there is the mystery of a woman's bones found under a lightening felled cypress in the back garden, as well as a new romance with an old love.  Terrific reading.

Gumbo Chorizo Style, Let the Good Times Roll!

I had the bright idea of making a Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, using  my own homemade sausage, made with wild caught Hawaiian boar.  Okay, in theory.  Just getting some in time was the hold up. Where the heck are you hunters when we need you?

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

As it turns out, my special order, wild pig came into the store, a day after I made my gumbo.  However, the good news is, there was some happily raised and prepared Chorizo at our wonderful Natural Foods Store, so we went with that, and with fantastic results, I must say.  Really, I must.  Luckily the Farmer's Market had some fresh okra, because what would it be without that?  This Gumbo is to die for.  That good.

I did the mise en place, all vegetables chopped, minced and ready, spices and herbs out, chicken cut up and ready.  Roux was the first to start, in my rendered and saved duck fat, then the onions, all browning up nicely. 

The recipe was great.  I won't mention any changes, other than the sausage.  Hey, at least it was from the South.  South of the Border maybe, but still.  It added immeasurably to the overall flavor, I think.  Also, I cut the amount way down, and it was plenty for 4-5.