Shrimp and Crab Gumbo with Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens

You should know what's being cooked in the kitchen otherwise you might eat a forbidden food.
- African Proverb

Patience is not my strongest virtue.  I'm fiercely loyal, honest, creative, resourceful, compassionate, cool as a cucumber but I'm just a little, wee bit impatient at times.  Don't judge me.  With that said, I thought I'd jumpstart my Black History Month series a week early (Translation: I honestly tried, but I just can't wait ALL the way until next week.  After all, the elders did always say don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today.): Exploring the African Presence in Modern American Cuisine, where I'll highlight the presence of foods and techniques of African origin in modern American cuisine.  First on deck is okra.

Okra is my favorite vegetable.  My family planted the heat-loving vegetable in our garden every summer and it was a staple in our household.  Historians have identified the plant's origin as Africa, and evidence suggests that African slaves brought it to the United States by way of New Orleans.  According to agricultural experts at Alabama Cooperative Extension:

Okra "can be traced to the Nile basin in Egypt where Egyptians have cultivated it for centuries, according to accounts of the crop in the thirteenth century.  Okra spread through North Africa from the Nile basin and on to the eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and India, spreading to the New World from Brazil and Dutch Guiana."*   

To recap, African slaves brought okra to the United States by way of New Orleans, and one of the primary uses for okra in New Orleans is gumbo.  Gumbo combines ingredients and cultural influences from the French, Spanish, Germans, Choctaws, and West Africans.  There's reason to believe gumbo's etymology and preparation may have respectively derived from traditional West African languages and West African native dishes.   For a detailed history of this Louisiana dish, visit the Gumbo Wikipedia page.  For now, let's have some pot stirring fun and do the gumbo!  It doesn't matter if you're young or old.  I'm gonna show you how it goes.  Stir to the right, to the right, to the right, to the right.  Stir to the left, to the left, to the left, to the left.  Now mix, now mix, now mix, now mix.  Now, stir it by yourself.  Now, stir it by yourself.  Who said you couldn't do a cooking remix to the Cupid Shuffle?  Most definitely not me.

For this gumbo, I used renown chef Donald Link's recipe for Shredded Pork Gumbo with Black-Eyed Peas and made the following substitutions:

1. One pound of shrimp & 1 pound of crab substituted for 1 1/2 pounds of pulled pork.  Seafood cooks rather quickly.  Do not add the shrimp and crab until the last few minutes of cooking; otherwise, it will turn rubbery and be inedible.
2. Whole wheat flour substituted for all purpose flour
3. One container of white button mushrooms (washed, sauteed in olive oil, set aside to cool, and then chopped) substituted for 4 pieces of bacon
4. Two pounds of okra instead of the 1 1/2 pounds of okra called for in the original recipe
5. I eliminated file powder from the seasoning mix since I don't like the taste of it.  Hence, more okra to thicken and flavor the gumbo since I love the taste of okra

* http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0959/

The Amazing Apple Pancake

Brunch

I have a confession to make.  Cue drumroll... I am not much of a breakfast person.  *Gasp*

It's not that I dislike breakfast.  I just am not willing to put in the extra effort to cook anything, during the week, when I have to wake up at 6 a.m.  So, for the past few years, my breakfast has consisted of oatmeal and whole grain cereals.   While I ate a good amount of oatmeal in graduate school, I've inadvertently embraced whole grain cereals as my breakfast of choice over the past year.  It's quicker. There are four that I eat rather consistently--Kashi Golean Crunch Honey Almond Flax, Quaker Oatmeal Squares,  Giant (store brand) Fiber Select Bran Cereal, and Trader Joe's Toasted Oatmeal Flakes.   These cereals are flavorful and full of complex carbohydrates, making them a great source of energy.  When eaten with reduced or low fat milk or a soy or almond milk, in my case, whole grain cereal is an excellent breakfast choice that provides nutrients from two food groups.  It's also pretty low in calories, which gives me a little more leeway to enjoy healthy snacks during the day and have a satisfying lunch and dinner without going over my calorie recommendations.

Enter weekend brunch.  Brunch is altogether a different beast than breakfast.  Brunch can go as late as 4 p.m. and combines traditional breakfast foods with the savory foods that are more often associated with lunch and dinner.  With work obligations out of sight and out of mind, brunch is a time to finally relax, indulge, and savor your food.

Apples Galore

I spent the past week promoting local food, farmers markets, and Maryland apples on my job.  After so many apple tastings, I thought I would have to take a break from eating apples.   But, how could I not take advantage of having an apple corer (used for my job) on hand?   This amazing device peels, cores, and slices apples in about 30 seconds, resulting in a slinky apple. I kid you not...

I also bought apples at the market this past week since they were on sale, and I hate to waste food.  So, quite naturally, I woke up yesterday morning wondering what could I make with apples.  I considered applesauce and fried apple pies when I suddenly remembered this awe-inspiring recipe from The Kitchn for The Apple Pancake.  Honestly, it had me salivating for days after I first saw it.  The rest is history, folks.

My apple pancake turned out quite different from theirs.  Apparently, I didn't chop my apple finely enough so they didn't condense and caramelize as much as they should have.  Instead, my apple were stacked and layered (a technique I've been trying to figure out for quite a while).  I also substituted one ingredient and added walnuts.  This pancake was quite delicious for brunch and an excellent dessert for dinner (with a side of fat free frozen vanilla yogurt).

Here's the recipe for my final product...

The Amazing Apple Pancake

Ingredients:

• 3 medium Gala apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into half moons
• 4 tablespoons white sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  

In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon and ginger and set aside.

Cut the butter into chucks and place them in a deep cast iron skillet.  Put the skillet in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the butter is melted.  Remove pan from the oven and carefully sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted butter.  Add the apples on top of the brown sugar and sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the top.  Put the skillet back in the oven to caramelize the apples and sugar.  

Whisk the flour with the remaining sugar, salt, and nutmeg.  Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly with a large wire whisk to beat out any lumps.  When the flour is smoothly incorporated into the milk, beat in the vanilla and the eggs one at a time.  Beat the mixture by hand for 2 minutes, or until foamy.  Allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.  By now the sugar should be bubbling around the apples.  

Remove the skillet from the oven and pour the batter over the apples.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the center is set and sides are lighted browned.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes.  Slice and transfer to a serving plate to enjoy.  

Recipe adapted from thekitchn.com -- Weekend Breakfast Recipe: The Apple Pancake