Something's Fishy

Hi there,

I decided I wanted to have gumbo.  And I wanted to learn to make gumbo.  So who better to teach me than Paula Deen???  I went on foodnetwork.com and pulled up her recipe and realized:  I do not want to cook okra.  I've never made it that it wasn't slimy.

So I went downtown and visited with Terri at Gold Leaf Spice and Teas, and bought some file gumbo.  That's a spice mixture that contains sassafras; it substitutes for okra as a thickener in gumbo.  And then I did something I've never done.  I made fish stock (instead of using the water + boullion cube combo in Paula's recipe).  It's really easy.  Takes only half an hour:  I got fish heads and bones from Frank's (he charged me a whole dollar for 2 pounds) and followed Julia Child's recipe.  (Hey, I write a blog.  Doesn't mean I fly without a map!)  It was yummy all by itself, but in Paula's gumbo recipe - omg.

And that just leaves me with an old, Dr. Demento type song in my head:  "Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads, fish heads, fish heads, eat 'em up yum!!!"

This is Big Week in Salinas (aka Rodeo week).  I'll be here as much as I can be - I'm a volunteer at the event -- and until then, I'll see you at the market!