"Love, Lust and Other Things" "Chef Sheri's Rocking Shrimp Gumbo"

So folks life is good!!! Sorry I haven't been blogging in awhile I have had the mother of all blocks going on in my head. Confusion had set in and I wasn't exactly sure where my life was taking me. I have been in turmoil emotionally and in matters of the heart. It was rough but now that he is out of my life I feel so much better......until he called me the other day to apologize. It was lost again after that call. It took me only a few hours to snap out of it and it really hurt hearing his voice. He shattered my heart in a way few have ever done and will ever do to me again. So here we go, Love, Lust and Other Things.

Too many times in life you get tossed into something that you just can't explain. Not even your best friends understand why or what you are doing but they stand by you and know that eventually you are going to need their support when the castle crumbles to the ground. There are too many ways to fall, you fall down to your knees to pray, you fall in love and you also can fall so deep into passion and lust you suddenly don't know exactly what you are doing nor care about repercussions. You have this instant "thing". I have always said there's good and evil, love and greed and they're all inside of you and to be honest and integral it's all for you to choose. So now you have to look at each of these characteristics and see which one this relationship fits into. In my kitchen I have to do the same thing, challenge the flavors, put them to the test. See which of the unique characteristics make this the best choice for what I am trying to create and then take a leap of faith and slowly add it into the mix. Sometimes it doesn't work...there is no way and you just have to let go and try something else. Then there are those times that it blends perfectly, seamless, effortless and the flavor worlds collide into a divine creation that will stand up for itself and be there for the world to judge and enjoy. I feel like that inside. I feel like what if's are ok. I feel like I have never in my life been in this kind of situation and to be honest with you I really kind of like it. It's no secret, yet it is, it's no shock to those around me but yet to what level. To say there is passion is an understatement, there is passion like I have never felt before. There is a sense of always wanting to be in this euphoric state and for the most part I am. I could be in a crowded room yet no one else exists. I don't understand. I sleep so well now, although I usually don't get much sleep the time I get is priceless and I awake well-rested. So I am in a state of relationship limbo. A cross between love, lust and other things.
The same components relate to me in the kitchen as do life, sometimes it may seem like one big mess but in the long run it all comes together for euphoric flavors, lustful presentation and the love put into making the masterpiece. So tonight I have included my recipe for Shrimp Gumbo.....Enjoy and Tasty Tastings Everyone!!!


Chef Sheri's Shrimp Gumbo

Ingredients

2 lb. cleaned and deveined med. to sm. shrimp
1 (8 oz.) can crabmeat, claw or white meat, or fresh crabmeat or gumbo crabs
1 lb. okra, cut in 1/4 inch rings, cleaned
1-2 onions, chopped
3 toes garlic, chopped
2-3 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3-5 green onions, chopped
4 tbs. Not You Average Cajun Seasoning

2-3 tbsp. parsley
1 ripe tomato, cut in sm. pieces or can of tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
Season to taste with salt, pepper, red pepper, thyme, basil

 

METHOD

Start gumbo in 5-quart pot. Make roux with 2 large tablespoons shortening to 1 large tablespoon flour. Stir until medium brown. Add seasonings and shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink and onions soft. Add hot water to half fill pot. Always keep gumbo at a simmer, never boil. Add tomatoes and sauce. Fry off okra in well-greased frying pan on low fire and turn frequently to keep from burning. Cook until it loses its ropiness, and drain on paper towels, about 15-20 minutes. Add okra and crabmeat to gumbo and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Serve over hot fluffy rice, with French bread or crackers. Tabasco may be added to plate, also gumbo file, if desired. Water may be added to thin, it should be a rust color, the combination of the roux and tomatoes