Mary Mahoney's Gumbo Recipe

From time to time a few of you have mentioned traveling down to Biloxi to test your kharma a bit, I suggest that you do two things.
1. YOU HAD JUST DADBURN BETTER CALL THE BUMPKIN AND COME TAKE A RIDE ON THE SWING!
2. Across the street from the Hard Rock Casino and Beau Rivage, is a little place called Mary Mahoney's.
Slip on your coastal casuals and slide across Hwy 90. Do it I promise, you will never forget it.

Bumpkin Hint:
Not to miss:
Fried Crab Claws w/Remoulade Sauce
Bloody Mary Mahoney's
Bread Pudding

All these previous item's aside, the best thing there is the Gumbo.
The Bumpkin is in search of the Best Gumbo Evah, and this is at least in the top 5.

Christmas, a few years back, a plane was flown from Keesler Air Force Base to Iraq containing 600 gallons of this:


Break out your recipe cards ladies, this is a rare one, and a Memorial Day Treat from the Bumpkin. Your'e gonna love me for this:

Don't Tell Anyone........







Mary Mahoney's Gumbo
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons bacon drippings
2 onions, chopped fine
1 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 small head garlic, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
6 cups water
1/2 tablespoon salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
2 pounds shrimp (fresh or frozen), peeled
2 pounds crab meat (fresh or frozen), picked over to remove shell or cartilage
1 (16-ounce) package frozen cut okra
1 pint oysters (optional)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:
In an 8-quart stockpot, brown flour in bacon drippings over medium heat to make caramel-colored roux, stirring often for about 6 to 8 minutes. Be careful it doesn't scorch. Carefully add onions, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, salt and pepper. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour.

(Note: At this point you may divide the gumbo base, which will total about 12 cups. Continue cooking some with a proportional amount of the remaining ingredients, and refrigerate or freeze the rest of the base for another meal.)

To finish: Add fresh or frozen shrimp, fresh or frozen crab meat and frozen okra. Raise heat to bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer an additional 20 minutes. (If using oysters, add them during last 5 minutes of cooking.) Add Worcestershire sauce, remove from heat and stir well. Serve over hot rice. --- Adapted from: "A Passion for People: The Story of Mary Mahoney and Her Old French House Restaurant"

Notes:
Like many restaurant recipes, this one feeds a crowd. Its 24 cups make 16 generous main-dish servings over hot rice or 24 or more first-course servings. While it can be halved easily, why not stretch your effort by making the base up to the point of adding seafood, then dividing it. Use part to continue with the recipe today and freeze the rest. All you'll have left to do is add the seafood and okra, simmer 20 minutes, stir in Worcestershire and the gumbo's on. Be sure to offer Tabasco on the side for those who like it spicy.
Nutrition:
Per main-dish serving (without rice or oysters): 176 calories (percent of calories from fat, 27), 21 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 5 grams fat, 109 milligrams cholesterol, 977 milligrams

Thank you to all our Veteran's! Happy Memorial Day!
Love,
The Bumpkin

Temporarily Disconnected

The Bumpkin's computer is a goner, and I am on the hunt for the perfect replacement. In the meantime, I am missing all the fun. Blogger addicted I am, can't wait to catch up with all of your lives. See ya soon.

Did you see the race yesterday?

Love,
The Bumpkin

Mine That Bird Is Going For It!

Still a chance for a Triple Crown winner this year. The Preakness is next Saturday, and the owners and trainers, have reconsidered, and Mine That Bird and his Cajun jockey are going for it!

Is this the year? If Calvin gets him on the inside it just might be!

Stayed tuned........Are ya'll gonna watch it?

Love,
The Bumpkin

What Was He Thinking?

I have been perusing the internet on this subject recently, I hear the gossip, I hear the statements, the reactions, the speculations, the ramblings, but I have yet to hear any one say, "What the Hell was he thinking?"

Dear Jon,

First off, you have eight kids and a wife, it's 2am, GO HOME.
Wife is at home with the eight kids right? Bitch or not, she's at home.
Married men do not "need" twenty somethin' girl friends, at least mine better not "need" one, unless she is kin to me, or been birthed by someone very close to me.
Especially not twenty somethin' friends who are sooooooo into the car they just have to take it for a spin. Insert midlife crisis, new hair, new car,(come on ladies, you know what else) NEW BOOTY.
If this was a "friend" don't you think that Kate would just say, "Hey she's a friend, she wanted to drive our new car." No big deal right? Stand by your man, honey!
No instead, she gets ridiculed for attempting to find a way to support these 8 children, give them the things that she didn't have, run the marketing, and oh don't forget take care of same 8 children. The press is crucifing her. She's mean to him, they say. She has 8 kids, camera men in her house all day, and a husband that doesn't work. I think she is entitled to a bitch fit every now and again. Does this make it okay, that he was with some little tramp at 2am? No it doesn't.
All the while, poor hubby is complaining he has no privacy. If you already knew you had no privacy, why did get in the car with the little hussy? At least, don't try to act shocked when you get caught.
I vote Kate tells the producers, who are feeding her, this ("He made a bad decision crap, that cast a poor light, blah, blah, blah) to get screwed, and just LET HER LOOSE ON HIS SORRY CHEATING ASS! That I would spend $5 on US, People, and Enquirer each to read!

Dear Twenty Somethin' Tramp,
He has 8 children, and a rattlesnake for a wife. His only job is to cut the pancakes. Darlin', the lawyers will line up like coupon cutters at Walmart on the morning of Two fer Tuesday. He will never have another pot to piss in, Honey!
He's washed up, finished, BROKE! Now move on to your next sugar daddy..go on.... get now...drive your own car...go ahead...tuck your tail...keep on a goin'..the whole world knows what a little floosie you are now...!

Is it just me? What do ya'll think?
Love,
The Bumpkin

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Impatiens for the shade.....just beautiful dontcha' think?


I've have been raising a fuss about John spilling the bird seed on the front porch when he feeds the birds. Hurts your feet! Sorry Honey! I found the culprit!
Oooops!



Remember the little yellow bloom? Squash anyone?

"Oh, let me step in the garden, and I'll cut us fresh lettuce for the salad."

Fresh steamed green beans....Yummmmmm!

Look at my tomater plants Y'all! Fried green tomatoes are on the menu!

Brussel Sprouts, odd little growers. Looks like the leaves are tightening in the middle? Where are they gonna come from?

6 months before Mamma died, she went blind from Diabetes. We would sit in the garden
and she would ask me to tell her about the blooms. John and I took a trip, and he found a White Angel Trumpet plant. Knowing she could see some things in shadows, and the blooms being white, and 1-2 ft long..My John thought just maybe, and he bought this plant for her. I took her outside, and she said, "I can see them, I can see them!" A priceless memory for me! This plant blooms around Mother's Day and Christmas. Do you think it could be a message? I miss my Mamma I'll take anything...........Happy Mother's Day Mamma, can you see them?

Looks a little different now. My Valentines Day greenhouse!

Inside the greenhouse we are starting again. This time radishes, carrots, new flowers, and WATERMELONS!!!! I love Watermelon...He saved the seeds from some fancy schmancy watermelon last year. Can't wait!

A salvage from Katrina, that John brought home from New Orleans. This is a antique sugar cane cooking, cast iron pot. In the wintertime, it's my fire pit, in the spring it turns into this......








I promised to share the "vegetables of our labor" with all of you. It ain't much but it's a start!



Love,
The Bumpkin

I'm Loving It!

I found a little project for My John today over at a new site I found.
Completely Coastal is soooooo The Bumpkin's kinda place, and I'm Loving It! I will be a regular daily no doubt. Jump over there for everything coastal, click on the picture over there for complete instructions (how cool is that?). (GRITS this site is sooooo you too!)

Now wonder what I can do for My John to coerce him to take on this project? I'm thinking it's gonna take a chocolate cake for sure, and I'm sure he'll have a suggestion or 2. Oh, what we women must do...........

Love,
The Bumpkin

I'm Loving It!

Lanterns......


A carryall for the garden.


Of course all our recycled. We mean green!



Do you know Viva Terra?

I'm loving these misprint garden accessories. The colors are a great pop in a garden of green.

I want to hang lots of lanterns under the roof of the swing. Lovely yes, but mostly for citronella votives, the dad gum mosquitos in South Mississippi are about to eat me alive!

Helllooooooo Germany!!!!!!!!!

Hallo zu meinem neuen deutschen Freunden. Es ist so schön von Ihnen zu besuchen mich jeden Tag. Ich fühle mich sehr geehrt.
Liebe,
Die Trampel



The Bumpkin has had several readers from Germany in the last couple of weeks. Regular readers daily. I wanted to welcome them in to our circle somehow, so I did some fancy internet translating. Hee Hee The Bumpkin translates to Die TRAMPel. Do ya'll think I should be insulted?

I'm Loving It!

Someone did a post on this artist recently, and I found it again today on photobucket.
Would love a print of this!

What $9, 500 Will Get You!

Today a Ford Focus won the Indy 500!

Today was my 35th Kentucky Derby viewing.

I have never seen a horse in the Derby that cost the owner less than $60,000.
Mine That Bird rode to the Derby in a plain horse trailor pulled by a modest pickup.

A underdog to say the least at 50-1 odds!

He smoked em....to quote the jockey, "Katy bar the door!"
He will stud for no less than a million now.

No Triple Crown this year, the owner doesn't want to risk injuring the horse in the Preakness or Belmont!

Just goes to show ya,

It doesn't matter where you came from, it only matters where you are going!

Love,
The Bumpkin

Kudos!

My Derby hat goes off to the trainers and owners of I Want Revenge! The horse had a hot spot on it's ankle, that probably would not have affected his run today as the top pick in The Kentucky Derby, but decided to go ahead and scratch him just in case. This horse could have brought them a nice "purse" today, but instead they put the welfare of the animal first! Awesome, dontcha think?

My pick Friesan Fire has moved up to the favorite.........In loving memory of Eight Belles, Larry Jones, is very determined today!

Love,
The Bumpkin

And I Quote..........

The idea is to write it so that people hear it
and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.

~ Maya Angelou ~