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Saturday, December 28, 2019

Gumbo Verde Louisiana



This Gumbo works nicely in a crockpot. Serve in soup bowls with Rice and Louisiana style Hot Sauce. Easy to do and tastes fine. Nearly impossible to overcook it. Just gets thicker and richer. 

Throw it together and let it simmer for hours. Yes, you can do it on the top of the stove, but why? This is more you-have-to-cook-dinner-365-days-a-year cooking. EASY to do. Tastes good. 

Forgive the brevity and lack of direction - sometimes I get these recipes written down on the backs of envelopes. The Greens are the best part of this Gumbo for my taste. I double the amount.  

Gumbo Verde

1 pound smoked or garlic Sausage, sliced in bite size pieces
2 cans of Navy Beans
1 can Beef Consomme with 2 cups Water
1 package frozen chopped Mustard Greens (10 ounces)
1 Onion, chopped
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
2 clove Garlic, chopped (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute the Sausage with Onion, Bell Pepper and Garlic. Combine Sausage mixture with the Consomme and Water, Beans, Greens. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Simmer slowly until the Beans become very soft and the Gumbo is thickened thereby.

Feel free to substitute cannellini or pink beans. You can use turnip greens or collards. I like frozen Turnip or Mustard Greens. I can only find them frozen in ethnic markets. So worth searching for. 

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Poor Man's Turkey

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.” ― Abraham Lincoln
This recipe comes from Karen Rock and Recipes of the Liberty Bell Chapter #266 - Vietnam Veterans of America.

This might taste awfully good on those days when you are sick of leftover Turkey and you have some stuffing left. I never have any stuffing left. And I hate Turkey. Might have to improvise.

I suppose you could make some stuffing just for this dish. Might be yummy. I like the whole idea.

Poor Man's Turkey

1 pound Ground Beef
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
1 Egg
1 small Onion, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 cup cooked Stuffing
1 slice raw Bacon (optional)

Combine first five ingredients and form into one loaf. Cut in half lengthwise and insert Stuffing into the middle of the loaf. Put back into shape and bake one hour at 375 degrees. Place strip of Bacon on top of meatloaf to keep it from drying out. Serves 4.


Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Sauce for Roast Beast or Ducking the Turkey


We are having Thanksgiving Roast Duck. I know I am out of step. I just do not like Turkey all that much.  The children love it, so I have dutifully served it for years. The Viper Girls have become a little less traditional now in their Terrible Thirties. So I am ducking the Turkey. I love puns.

I decided I would try a new Relish to complement the richness of Roast Duck. I went looking in some of my regional cookbooks and found the recipe below. I reproduce it here in case you want to do something NEW too.

Pickle Nut Salad

2 packets Knox Gelatin
2 cups cold Water
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Vinegar
1 and 1/2 cups cubed sweet midget Pickles
1 cup chopped English Walnuts

Dissolve Knox gelatin in cold water. Boil sugar and vinegar to 250 degrees or until it spins a thread. Pour sugar syrup into gelatin water, stir. Pour into 9 inch square container and add pickles and nuts, stir. Serve when set.


Saturday, October 19, 2019

Art Deco and More at the New York Public Library

I found the New York Public Library Digital Collections. What a great resource for everyone. 

"The site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more."

The images come from the Collections for Designers - Ornament and Pattern:
Pre Victorian to Art Deco. 

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection, The New York Public Library. "1. Foliage; 2. Foliage; 3. Flowers and foliage" The New York Public Library Digital Collections.





The material in the collections is a treasure chest of graphic and abstract design. I spent a long time just poking about and I have not exhausted the resource yet.

The provenance of the abstract Tulips.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection, The New York Public Library. "[Multicolor tulip shapes; on purple field.]" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1930.


The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Cretonne imprimée." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1926. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-ae3e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99