Gumbo

So today I looked into my fridge, and my pantry, and wasn't hungry for anything in either of those.

So I was flipping through my Fannie Farmer cook book looking for something...anything!...that looked appetizing. I saw stuffed bell peppers....but it would take 45 minutes to bake. So that was a no go.

Then. I saw. IT.

A Gumbo recipe.

And that sounded good.

So, I searched online for vegan recipes (remember, I'm trying to be better about what I eat). Besides, I didn't want to buy shrimp, or chicken. And I found a few. I pieced together my own recipe. The only thing lamentable is that I didn't have any okra in the house. Oh well. So here's my recipe for Gumbo!

~Gumbo~
Prep Time: 1 hour (with rice)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
6 cups vegetable broth (or two vegetable bouillon in 6 cups of water)

3 stalks of celery, diced or chopped
1 onion, diced or chopped
1 bell pepper, diced or chopped
2 tomatoes, diced or chopped
3 cloves of garlic, diced

1 cup cooked whole grain rice

3 dashes of red pepper flakes (I think I may have put in 6....which would explain why it was so spicy)
2 dashes of black pepper
2 dashes of Oregano

*If you don't have any cooked rice on hand, go ahead and start this recipe by cooking a cup of rice. You want to undercook the rice, just a little bit, so that it won't go squishy when added to the gumbo pot.
*While your rice is cooking, go ahead and chop up your vegetables.

Heat stove top to medium heat and place large pot on top. Pour olive oil in pot and let it heat for about a minute. Add flour and stir. Heat these together for a few minutes (technically you should make a roux out of it, and it should cook for hours, but I burn mine so easily that I gave up). Add vegetable broth and all the vegetables. Let this heat up till it is steaming, then go ahead and add the spices. The more red pepper flakes you use, the spicier it will be! let boil until vegetables become softer...and add the rice. Turn down to a simmer for around 10-15 minutes. You should have a nice pot of gumbo!!!

I didn't technically time any of this....or exactly measure anything. But, I must say it's pretty close :D

ENJOY!