Cookin on the Farm

Cooking on the farm isn't as easy as you think ...

Out in a rural area, you have to contend with being out of an ingredient or perhaps your propane is running low so you have to go easy on the cooking until you get your next load of propane.  Sometimes, if we get a bad snow or high winds, we lose electricity for several hours.  You learn to adjust to the elements when you live in rural America.

Grocery lists are long around this house.  We buy two to four weeks worth of groceries at one time.  It's not like we have a store on the corner.  We don't and must travel up to 25 miles to be able to go to our favorite discount stores in order to save as much as we can on stock up items.

Sometimes when I cook i have to use ridiculous ingredients because I'm out of something I really need to make a particular recipe.  That's what happened when I went to make the Seafood Gumbo which is my highlighted recipe today.  I didn't have what I needed so I made up my own recipe.  It worked and I've been using it for a long long time.  It's a spicy rendition of Seafood Gumbo made from an old fashion roux, but there are certain items you can omit or reduce if you think it might be too spicy for you.  Hope you like it.  Remember it's my own personal recipe I made my own recipe to fit our tastes.  If you change it, don't blame me if it tastes awful.   Just make sure you like all the ingredients before you make it.   Ha ha

Happy Cooking.

Seafood Gumbo - my personal recipe like no other's recipe

For the roux:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup flour

Add after the roux is done:
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme - crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 heaping cup chopped onion
1/2 heaping cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced green pepper
4 cloves fresh garlic - minced

Final addition:
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
1 package small salad shrimp - thawed
1 can boiled oysters - do not drain- do not use smoked oysters
1/2 package chopped small smoked sausage - butterball
2 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup Heinz chili sauce
2 squirts Sriracha Sauce - can be omitted to reduce spicy
1/2 teaspoon filo spice -can be omitted if you don't have it.

3 chopped green onions for topping


Cook olive oil and flour together on medium low until the roux is light copper color.  Do not hurry and stir often to keep from burning.  The darker the color, the better the flavor of the gumbo.  This might take about 20 minutes.

Once the roux is done, add the next ingredients, from the herbs through the vegetables.  Cook about 7 to 8 minutes.  After this is cooked, let sit for about 10 minutes. 

After that, add the final addition ingredients except for the filo and rice, and cook for about 20 minutes.  Add the filo and rice right before serving.  Serve in a bowl and top with chopped green onions.  Serve with your choice of bread.

Grandma's Coffee Cake

This is an easy coffee cake which you will love.  You can make it in a 9 x 13 pan or a bundt pan.  I prefer the bundt pan cake - it's prettier to serve and you can grab a piece with your hand and eat it on the run.  This recipe came to me from a very good friend.  She definitely had a hit with this recipe.  And, I have passed it on to many of my friends and relatives and it's always a hit when I do.

1 yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix
(ONLY if you can't find a yellow cake mix with pudding, add a small box of vanilla pudding to the dry cake mix in your bowl)
1/2 cup oil
(in order to cut the fat grams I use 1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce and 1/4 cup of canola oil)
4 eggs - slightly beaten
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray (or use a sprayed 9 x 13 pan).  Put a small amount of chopped nuts in the bottom of the bundt pan....just a few - not many.

Mix the cake mix, oil, eggs, water and vanilla with a wire whisk for about 3 minutes.    Pour about 1/3 of the mix in the bottom of the bundt pan and spoon 1/3 of the cinnamon, sugar, nuts mixture over the top.  Repeat two more times.  End with cinnamon, sugar and nuts on top.  Use a butter knife and run through the cake/cinnamon mixture to swirl the cake.  I usually run it twice through the cake.  Bake 30 to 32 minutes at 375.    Test with a toothpick. 


Oven times can vary oven to oven.  As soon as it comes out, brush with about 1.5 tablespoons of melted margarine.  Let cake cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan.  I always run a long slender bladed knife around the edge and middle of the cake in the bundt pan.  Turn out onto cake platter.  Keep covered.

 

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