eG FoodBlog: Mayhaw Man - I eat more than Okra

[SobaAddict70]

What, no okra? heheh. No file either.

Do you prefer either, or both, in your gumbo?

Soba

[Mayhaw Man]

What do you mean by a flat of strawberries?

A flat is 12 pint baskets. They sell for two bucks a pint or 12 bucks a flat currently at the place in the blog. She will also knock off a 2 bucks if you bring back 12 pint baskets. I don't think that they are worth that, but I guess that it is a way to get repeat business.

[Mayhaw Man]

What, no okra? heheh. No file either.

Do you prefer either, or both, in your gumbo?

Soba

No okra. I use it in seafood gumbo. File as well. I also add file at the table to the one I made today. File, when used properly in my opinion, is more of a condiment than an ingredient.

I use the stuff that this guy makes all of the time. He is quite an interesting character and is at the Crescent City Farmers Market regularly.

Lionel Key-The File Man (you will need to scroll down to the third entry)

Friday is Okra Day. Did you think I would skip it?

[bloviatrix]

As I read this blog, one word keeps popping into my head.....

ROADTRIP!!!

[Pan]

That was beautiful, Brooks! Terrific step-by-step pictures and instructions.

[bleudauvergne]

Looks like we may get to see Strawberry Ice Cream coming out of this blog...

Mmmmmm

[Mayhaw Man]

That was beautiful, Brooks! Terrific step-by-step pictures and instructions.

Thanks kind sir.

If I had paid more attention to the mess on my stove I might have come out with some more attractive photos. (first one is a twin of my unit-clocks work and it has these cool deco salt and pepper shakers built into the top that I never use but like to look at)

Damn cameras. They show everything. I need better retouch software.

[Pan]

I really wasn't paying any attention to your stove. It was only what was in the pot that was interesting to me!

[fifi]

Bravo, Brooks! My Gumbo Goddess in heaven just struck up the choir with a rockin' rendition of the Hallelulah Chorus!

And gumbo reigns for ever and ever...

The stove and the pot are perfect. Very artfully plated, too.

[Mayhaw Man]

Do you remember those placemats? They cost a ton in antique shops now but I remember everybody having them when I was growing up. My grandmother made that thing (the grandmother that couldn't boil water but could sew anything and tat with two shugs (now there is a lost art)-she made beautiful things).

[Anna N]

Thanks for sharing. I think spotless stoves only exist on FoodTV - the rest of us don't have an army of people to clean up our messes as we work!

[fifi]

I do remember those placemats. Were they called ribbon weaving? That never caught on in my family so I don't have any. We all sewed or did something. But my grandmother (Big Mama) and aunts on my dad's side were the champs. Big Mama did exquisite tatting. I have tons of crocheted doilies, a couple of quilt tops, various embroidered things. My prize is the "dollar" bedspread. That is what we called it but it has another name. Little circles of cloth were gathered into a pouf, flattened into a round about the size of a silver dollar and linked together. Each grandaughter got one on her 16th birthday. My sister has been known to wear hers as a shawl. Quilts and dollar bedspreads were made from scraps from family members' sewing. She had 9 children so there were plenty of scraps.

That kind of stuff has value beyond counting. I envy your placemats. (And stove, and pot, and gumbo. )

[Mayhaw Man]

Looks like we may get to see Strawberry Ice Cream coming out of this blog...

Mmmmmm

Actually that is a fine idea. I can make the custard before I go to sleep and cool it.

At least one good thing will come out of this "night of the nerds". All night work is for people who don't like sleep. It is one thing to stay up late and do something fun, but this work stuff is awful. When I was much younger I did it all of the time, but I ain't young no mo..

[JPW]

Wow! Thanks for the gumbo recipe. I just ate breakfast but am now hungry again.

But, what really made me drool even more was that beautiful pot. That thing looks awesome!

[Rachel Perlow]

Brooks,

Believe me, no one noticed the splashes on the stove, not until you pointed them out. Too distracted by looking at the food & roux making. I actually went back to look at the pictures to see what you were talking about, and even then it doesn't look too bad. Just concentrate on the stuff inside the pot and we'll continue to ignore everything outside the rim.

Rachel

PS -- don't be surprised if one day some eGulleters just wind up on your front porch asking "what's for dinner?"

[bleudauvergne]

Looks like we may get to see Strawberry Ice Cream coming out of this blog...

Mmmmmm 

Hey! Morning of the nerds, feasting on your gumbo with my morning coffee...

[slbunge]

I really wasn't paying any attention to your stove. It was only what was in the pot that was interesting to me!

Actually, I was paying attention to the stove and it looks great. I long for the old stove we had in our last house (sold with the house). Great 50-ish year old range that had taken a few lumps. Four burners on the right with oven and broiler below. Left side was a prep area on top and pot/pan storage below. Worked great but had endearing tempramental qualities: if two burners were lit, usually the pilot wouldn't light a third; hot spots in the oven; oven temp setting from dial was not accurate; etc. Great stove, made us work for our admiration.

Another thing about your blog is the window into your town. Seems sort of unspoiled though it is close to New Orleans. I had heard from friends who live in NO that there is vast urban-to-suburban movement accross the lake. Perhaps the tract housing and Target/Walmarts are going up elsewhere. I hope so for your sake because the grocery, farm stands, and snoball shops seem ideal.

[Rhea_S]

I may have to reconsider the Easter menu this year. That chicken and sausage gumbo looks absolutely delicious. Also, your ground beef and noodles dish is very similar to a staple on my mom's dinner table in my youth. My brothers still love the stuff and it was one of the first things I learned to cook.

[Toliver]

Brooks,

That gumbo recipe and all its pictures should be bronzed! I can only hope it can get cut and lifted into an eGCI class for posterity. It is truly a thing of beauty and an art unto itself.

And that pot is wonderful! Those nice angled sides remind me of those flat bottomed woks all the stores are hawking. Everything old is new again, isn't it?

[herbacidal]

Looks like we may get to see Strawberry Ice Cream coming out of this blog...

Mmmmmm 

Actually that is a fine idea. I can make the custard before I go to sleep and cool it.

At least one good thing will come out of this "night of the nerds". All night work is for people who don't like sleep. It is one thing to stay up late and do something fun, but this work stuff is awful. When I was much younger I did it all of the time, but I ain't young no mo..

Actually, I've noticed in the past few years that I have no problem staying up all night working.

But I get tired if I stay up late playing.

[Mayhaw Man]

Another thing about your blog is the window into your town. Seems sort of unspoiled though it is close to New Orleans. I had heard from friends who live in NO that there is vast urban-to-suburban movement accross the lake. Perhaps the tract housing and Target/Walmarts are going up elsewhere. I hope so for your sake because the grocery, farm stands, and snoball shops seem ideal.

You are correct about the urban sprawl and why my town still looks the way it does. St Tammany Parish has grown from 95,000 in 1990 to over 200,000 in 2000. The reason that Abita Springs has not seen as much of that growth is two fold:

1) WIth the traffic situation in the more Urban parts of the parish (Houston has nothing on parts of the Parish at this point, the congestion in Mandeville and Slidell on the main routes to New Orleans can be unbelievable) Abita is uniquely (and fortuitously) situated in such a way that "you gotta be coming here to get here". We are not on a main route to anywhere. The other part of this is that we are too far from downtown New Orleans to get there in time for a reasonable commute (considering the traffic). This situation has actually saved the town, although the property values have basically skyrocketed along with everything else around here-which is a plus for people who were stupid enough to suck up big, old houses in the eighties (like me). Part of this parish looks just like you have described it-big boxes everywhere, Target, Wal Mart, Home Depot-right next door to Lowe's , and incredible subdivisions with giant McMansions in them. My wife sells art to these people and is constantly amazed how many of these people who build these big ass houses and can't afford to put furniture in them. Big huge empty houses. Fortunately they still buy art.

2) We have a very forward thinking Board of Aldermen (old hippies are good for some things) and the zoning is tight. Abita Style architecture (this is an actual term) is all that is allowed for new construction in commercial and home construction. That cool looking gas station is pretty much what a bank has to look like if they want to be around. I will take a photo of a perfect Abita Style house (mine is not as we removed the side porch and added on a large, but in the guidlines, living room a number of years ago) (the guy who this website belongs to is the same guy sleeping at the party above-he is a fascinating character-check out the museum website).

Lunch today (or is it breakfast?) is consisting of Gumbo over some cheese grits that were in the freezer. I thawed out a square, pan fried them in a little evoo, and loaded the gumbo on top. Yes friends, it is very good. I am eating it now.

Dinner tonight is supposed to be fish, but I don't know what reality is yet. I will keep you posted. I may resort to Lucky Charms. I am going to make some Strawberry ice cream tonight though. That was a great idea!

[clothier]

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for some gumbo today!!

Awesome.

[hathor]

Incredible. I was away in Europe for awhile and it was a treat to come back and catch up on your amazing blog. From my window, there are no leaves on the trees, its rainy, a tomato is a dimly remembered object, and roses? I'd settle for some daffodils.

Actually I was thinking of you while I was in London and had the most amazing deep fried, spicy, slivered okra 'chips'. Looking forward to okra day tommorow.

And I love the gumbo pot. I have a fry pan/splatter cover lid from my grandmother that is magical. Amazing what we get attached to.

Thanks for taking the time for the blog and the town tour and the book reveiw!

[Toliver]

Brooks,

Thanks for posting the link to the museum. It's quite interesting.

I especially enjoyed the Paint By Numbers Art Exhibit. I think I even have a couple of those paintings in my house somewhere.

[ludja]

I echo eveyone else's thanks for the beautifully illustrated step-by-step chicken gumbo recipe---and, I really love the photos that you took while you were 'downtown'. Reminds me of long drives outside of Chapel Hill, NC through small towns. It's great that so many of the old businesses are still alive and kicking.