The Myrtles

Cornelia’s Gumbo Recipe

Ingredients
1 large frying chicken (needs to be dressed) including giblets & neck, 
1-1/2 cups of flour for dredging, 
1/2 tsp. cracked pepper, 
1-1/2 lb. fresh okra, cut crosswise in ¼ inch rounds, 
2 large beefsteak tomatoes if they’re proven tasty, otherwise 4 small tomatoes that taste like something chopped, 
2 medium green bell peppers, chopped 
1 large yellow onion, 
1 very large garlic clove, diced, 
3 tbsp. flour, unbleached, 
3 qts. hot (not boiling) water, 
3 large dried bay leaves, 
1 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled and de-veined, 
1 pint raw oysters and juice, 
1 tbsp. file. 

Hot brown rice.
(Other seafood can be substituted for the shrimp & oysters, but this flavor & texture combo is good)
Method
Dredge chicken in flour and pepper. In heavy skillet fry it until brown in enough peanut or canola oil to keep from sticking. Remove from skillet and set aside in large pot that has a lid. Reserve chicken oil to be used as needed in rest of cooking.
Combine okra, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion and garlic and fry in just enough chicken oil to prevent sticking. When almost done, put in pot with chicken.
Make a roux by combining 5 tbsp. of reserved chicken oil with 3 tbsp. flour in a large heavy skillet. Stir constantly over medium heat until roux turns dark brown. Be careful not to burn it! If you burn it, throw it out & start over. Nothing kills the flavor of gumbo like burned or scorched roux. Practice makes perfect. Gradually stir water into roux a little at a time. Add pepper and bay leaves and simmer about 5 minutes, stirring when necessary to prevent sticking. Pour over chicken and vegetable mixture, bring to a boil and simmer about 30 minutes.
Add shrimp and oysters & oyster juice to simmering mixture in pot and continue to cook about 15 minutes. Add file after gumbo has been removed from fire and has stopped bubbling. Do not boil after file has been added, as gumbo will be stringy. Many cooks put a bottle of file on the table and let guests add their own. (In case you are not familiar with file, it is made from dried sassafras leaves. A small bottle will last a long time.)
*Marie’s note- I’ve used saffron strands or ground cumin when I don’t have file- way different taste, but a good one.
Serve gumbo over hot brown rice in large flat-type soup bowls. Prepare rice while gumbo is cooking- we use brown rice for good flavor. Make some hot sauce available on the table, it adds to the file flavor. Salsa works well, too. This great recipe is from the sweetest woman in St. Francisville, Cornelia Devereux 1924-2007.

and old boards are the best, nowadays they aren’t put together like they once were ;-)

So all this retro immunity seems to be about money and jail time for some heavies and not a thing to do with “security”.

If you have a legal defense then present it a court and let a jury decide if you screwed up. They might find it patriotic blah blah blah… and give a pass or they may not.

Don’t you trust the people to make the right choices with their own safety… and privacy? Ha Bush?

later

In the upcoming debates, it would nice to see Sens. Clinton & Obama asked if the House of Bush will be held to account for any crimes committed during their occupation should either become president.

would love to see that!

there is much more cost to this war then the money we’ve squandered and the loss of humaninty

in this country, there is a positive return on every life, each person contributes more to this country then they take, both socially and financially

the assets and income we have lost through this war cannot be measured