Momma Gert's Place

Royce Smith

Greetings readers and welcome to another edition of Seasoned Cooking and welcome to Momma Gert's Place!

Well, we've made it to the year 1999! STRANGE isn't it? Nevertheless, time is indeed rolling on and the hustle and bustle of life is about to begin again as the New Year has ushered itself in!

The weather in this portion of the South was relatively warm until the second week in December when the temperatures dropped from 70 degrees to 40 degrees over night! Brrr!

Remember to keep warm and keep plenty of cold remedies at bay. Actually, drink plenty of orange juice or some type of vitamin C and the cold bugs should leave you alone for the most part.

Being the weather is cold, I thought it might be nice to have a recipe for one of those cold winter days that you were stuck indoors and have plenty of time on hand.

Here is a nice little recipe for Gumbo which entails a lot of items. You can use a variety of vegetables as side dishes to gumbo but I prefer mine with crackers and a big glass of iced tea.

Do enjoy!

Gumbo

  • 1/4 cup salad oil
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 large yellow onion (diced)
  • 1 large red onion (diced)
  • 1 large green bell pepper (diced)
  • 1 large red bell pepper (diced)
  • 1 large yellow bell pepper (diced)
  • 1 garlic clove (crushed)
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 12 oysters in shells
  • 2 16 ounce cans of tomatoes
  • 1 10 ounce package frozen okra (sliced)
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 pound shelled and deveined shrimp
  • 1 16 ounce package frozen Alaskan crab (thawed & drained)
  • 2 red hot peppers (whole)
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon and pepper seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  • 1 pot of cooked rice (about 4 cups)

In a 5 quart Dutch oven over medium to high heat, in very hot salad oil, gradually cook flour until dark brown but not burned. Stirring constantly. This will take about 7 to 8 minutes.

Stir in bell peppers, onions, garlic, salt, and seasoning. Cook until onion and peppers are tender, stirring occasionally.

Open oysters and drain liquid into flour mixture. Refrigerate oysters.

Add tomatoes with their liquid. Add okra and water. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or just until the mixture thickens slightly.

Add oysters, shrimp, crab, hot peppers, and hot pepper sauce. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the shrimp turns pink or opaque. Serve in soup bowls with a scoop of rice.

  • Yields: 8 servings
  • Preparation Time: 3 hours