Sausage and Duck Gumbo

couple slices of bacon
1/2 cup of butter and flour (for roux)
Andouille sausage (1 lb), cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped smaller than bite size
3 stalks of celery, chopped bite size
1 green bell pepper, chopped bite size
1 clove or garlic crushed and minced (or 1 tsp of garlic powder)
1 Tbs of seasoning salt (like Swamp Fire or Slap Yo Mama)
1 Tbs of dried parsley
2 quarts (1/2 gallon) of duck (or chicken) broth
3 bay leaves

Fry bacon slices and sausage
Add celery, crushed garlic, bell pepper, and onions
When everything is fried up and spattering, add the broth
Bring to a boil and then simmer.
Add bay leaves and season to taste
Make roux with melted butter and flour, add to soup to thicken.

I used Jasmine rice to serve it over, but traditionally long grain is used.

Later, I served it over rice noodles and the girls actually licked their bowls clean. THAT is a rare occasion. They had seconds and ate until all the gumbo was gone.

That meant that the recipe above made enough for two full meals for a very hungry family of four.

Happy Birthday to my not so little Lil'Bug

Happy 6th birthday my baby girl. I love you more than you will ever know.

Pumpkin into Food for Now and Later

This is how we roast pumpkin to make pumpkin puree for pies and soups. Under each half is a tablespoon of salted butter. This variety is small sugar pumpkin. I like it for processing this way the best of all the pumpkins recommended for pies and soups mostly because I can do three at a time, the vine produces quite a few and they ripen before the vine gets mildew or attacked by stink bugs. They store well too. All around a great pumpkin.

I remove from the oven (set at 350-400 degrees F) after about an hour or when I start to see the skin split.

I let cool until I can easily touch them without being burned. Then the skins will have started to curl off, and they easily peel off by pulling with my finger or prodded with a butter knife. I turn them over and scrape the seeds out of the center, but I leave the stringy part mostly. It all goes into the food processor and gets pureed, why waste it?

After whirring a bit in the processor (a blender works too), I scoop into freezer bags or jars in about 2 cup (16 oz) amounts. That's what most recipes call for. From there I can make mashed pumpkin (like mashed potatoes with more nutrients, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, or pie filling.

For pie filling I actually cook the pumpkin goo for a little bit on the stove top with butter and cream and seasonings (I like cinnamon and nutmeg), puree it again to get the texture just right and then use whatever recipe calls for a "can of pumpkin" but this way it's free of preservatives and can stuff.

See? Pumpkin IS food and not just porch decoration. ;)

Reverse Bucket List

These are not the things I hope to accomplish, but those I already have. 

1)Became a mom. This only started with pregnancy and actually took months after Lil's birth. It wasn't an "oh here's the baby, now you are a mom," deal. 
2)Became a wife. Same deal. Took years. 
3)Fell in love, stayed in love, still in love.
4) Had my writing published. 
5) Led a protest rally and march. Had it work. Saved the jobs of my friends and colleagues who were not allowed to march on their own behalf.
6) Restored a house.
7) Started a farm.
8) Learned to garden.
9) Learned to render.
10) Learned to can my own food without killing my family.
11) Learned to sew. 
12) Stated emotional boundaries and stood up for myself. 
13) Had lunch with Forbes in their townhouse and got a private tour of their Faberge collection.
14) Hugged Tori Amos.
15) Had my picture taken with one of the Johns of TMBG.
16) Watched shooting stars and had wishes come true.
17) Lunched with Iowa "Governor" Ray without knowing who he was. Talked his ear off for about 2 hours.
18) Visited New York before.
19) Got my Masters or Arts degrees. 
20) Sat in a Whaddya Know audience. 
21) Drove a truck in 4 wheel drive.
22) Drove a truck in 4WD hauling a lift and (after getting stuck) hauling it out of a snow embanked ditch.
23) flew in a hot air balloon
24) chased and outsmarted pigs.
25) loved, laughed, cried. 
26) Saw Peter Gabriel perform live with Sindade O'Conner
27) Saw David Bowie perform live with Trent Reznor
28) Saw the Clash (actually Big Audio Dynamite 2, but really they will always be the Clash) perform live
29) Had film footage of myself and a friend get used in a U2 zootv concert. That was my very first live concert, too.
30) climbed to the top of Ruby Mountain mostly on foot. 
31) Advocated for someone in front of City Council and won.
32) Served on a City Commission as a professional/expert
33) Served on a State Board of Directors as a professional
34) Hosted a Statewide conference on Historic Preservation (though it tanked)
35) survived.
36) stood up to a health care provider who was wrong and disrespectful about being wrong
37) told the truth, and in the face of being called a liar and crazy, did not back down.
38) made apple pie from scratch
39) felt confident and pretty without wearing make up
40) saw the moons of Jupiter


Things I would like to do:
1) swim in the Mediterranean
2) walk inside a building that is more than a 1000 years old
3) drink milk still warm from the cow
4) finish my novel(s) 
5) help someone else succeed at breastfeeding