Fiesta Salad

Tantalizing and vibrant, this salad will refresh and nourish everyone on a hot summer’s day. Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
1 can whole corn, rinsed or 1 ½ cup fresh corn
1 cup black beans, rinsed well (more if you like!)
4 green onions, diced
1 jalapeno or sarreno pepper, minced
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
1 orange or red bell pepper, seeded, chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
½ Teaspoon garlic salt
1 ½ Tablespoon pimentos (opt)
¼ Teaspoon red pepper flakes (opt)

Rinse beans and corn well, and toss in a large bowl with all the remaining ingredients!

Spicy Sausage & Shrimp File' Gumbo

Cajun and Creole chefs use file' powder , (pronounced fee-lay) made from the dried leaves of the sassafrass tree, or okra to thicken the gumbo. We like to use Zatarain's file' powder, found in the spice or seafood seasoning section of most large grocers.

Amazon shoppers can find Tony Chachere's Creole Gumbo File' (powder) - 1.25 oz

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive, grapeseed, canola OR peanut oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 bell peppers
2 jalepeno, serano or 1 habanero pepper(s)
2 celery stalks with leaves
4 green onions
3 garlic cloves
6 cups chicken broth
1 35oz can whole tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsly or cilantro
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and/or cayenne pepper
1 1/4 lbs Italian sausage, or fresh chorizo sausage cut in 1" pieces
1 generous Tablespoon file' powder
1 lb medium size uncooked fresh or frozen shrimp, deveined
Chopped green onions for garnish
Steamed rice

The trickiest part is making the roux. Heat oil in large 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven on medium, then sprinkle and whisk in the flour. Keep whisking for 4 to 5 minutes until roux turns a light brown. It burns easily so you may want to adjust the heat if oil appears too hot.
Turn the heat a little lower and add all the vegetables except garlic, cover and let steam for 5 minutes to soften vegetables. Stir occasionally and add a bit of broth if vegetables are sticking to the bottom. Blend in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the herbs and spices; parsley, bay leaves, paprika, thyme, oregano and pepper. Add tomatoes with their juice breaking them apart into small chunks. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and simmer for 1 hour.
While you're waiting, prepare sausage until browned, drain and put aside. Devein shrimp, then sit back and enjoy the savory scent. Have an ice cold beer, and listen to Dr. John's album, N'Awlinz: Dis Dat or d'Udda while your waiting!


Time's Up! Add the sausage! If you are including shrimp, bring gumbo to boiling, add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes. Remove gumbo from heat, then add a heaping tablespoon of file' powder. Serve over steamed rice. Make extra rice - you'll love the leftovers!

Berry Traumatized

Island bound that I am, this summer I have been berry, berry deprived. Literally, without berries. The pain, the pain... Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear? The Pioneer Woman's Berry debate complete with 2 recipes and fantastic photographs followed by my berry own daughter's Blackberry Crisp recipe with photographs so good your taste buds twitch. Women can be so cruel . Not to be outdone, my mainland shopping trip to Costco provided my salvation. A 5 lb bag of mixed berries! Yes, they're frozen, but the fact that they're organic takes some of the pain away. It wasn't until after I got to my car that I realized the berries would have to survive 4 more hours in the car, a taxi ride to the ferry, the hour and a half channel crossing, and the final 1/2 mile trek to my freezer. With the survival instinct of a lioness protecting her cubs from prey, I unrelentingly searched for a grocer selling dry ice. Aahhh, Albertson's! The berries and I made it safely home and when I took the first bite of my very own batch of berry crisp, I felt vindicated at last. They can have their photographs - I still have 4 more pounds of berries!