It took awhile to do a new post despite the fact that I made the Gumbo was made like a week ago, probably longer. I have been busy doing some stuff. I finally got a job sort of? I have been meeting some new people and going out and doing stuff occasionally.
JOB
I called some Craigslist ad number and it turned out to be canvassing for Grassroots Campaigns. I am canvassing for the ASPCA, which is pretty cool. I pretty much go out and do fund raising for Grassroots Campaigns on behalf of the ASPCA. It's some small office in the Loop with a bunch of people my age. I really enjoy the work, but it is kind of hard. I have one to two more days to make 100 dollars in one day to make staff. If I don't do this, then I get let go. It is pretty difficult to get people to donate money to animals when there is a recession. At the very least I made some money, got out of the house, and met some really cool people.
STUFF
I have, in the mean time, been trying to find other jobs. I have had some interviews with places. I had a call back from a restaurant that turned out to be almost a fast food place. That was a huge let down. Hopefully I will have better luck soon. The weather here has not been as brutal as I expected. It only got less than 20 for like 2 weeks. Then again, in that 2 weeks there was a day where it was -9 degrees with wind chill. That was pretty terrible. For the most part it has stayed above 20, which is fine by me.
That is a basic catch up of what has been going on. Boring - I know.
I need to get some money and go to restaurants and talk about them in posts. Right now I have only really gone to Chicago Diner, Earwax, Sultan's, Handlebar, and a few others. Honestly, I have not been very impressed other than Sultan's. I think my next post will be about why Chicago Diner was not everything I thought it would be. Well, except for the cupcakes and milkshakes. Good Lord those were amazing.
21.1.10
Vegan Gumbo
So, I have been wanting to make a gumbo for awhile so a week ago I did. It was fairly decent. I had a couple of issues with the end result (not due to the recipe but rather with problems in work). Unfortunately, I started late and had something to do later in the evening, so I was rushed. A huge thing for gumbo is time. A whole lot of time. I really enjoy a more involved recipe, and this is it.
First of all, you need to make a Roux. This is a heated mix of Oil and Flour. I do not suggest using olive oil because it has a low smoking point, but if you're careful you can use it. I used regular vegetable oil, but I have read Canola or Peanut Oil are really good for this. Of course you can use butter, but it generally calls for Ghee (clarified butter), which I did not feel like making or buying. There are ways to make Ghee at home, but I won't get into that here. Anyway, you mix about 1 part Oil and 1 part Flour. For the purposes of this recipe, it's a 1/4 cup of each. I actually put a little more Flour in, I would put closer to a 1/3 of a cup. You slowly mix in a little flour at a time over low/medium heat. After it is all mixed, you heat it anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour (this estimate is based on more than one Roux recipe I have read, since it is so variable I would suggest keeping a good eye on it and stopping when you feel it is a dark brown). It needs to be a nice dark brown. Make sure the Oil isn't smoking before you mix and you need to watch this pretty carefully to make sure it does not burn. Stir a bit every couple minutes or so. I did this in the same pot in which I was going to make the soup to facilitate the process.
Once you've made your roux sauté 1 chopped Onion, 1 chopped Bell Pepper, and 1 chopped Celery rib in the Roux and 2 cloves of Garlic. Coat all the chopped ingredients in the roux and sauté until the vegetables are soft. Obviously this varies depending on the stove. Mine takes about 6-8 minutes on medium low heat. Remember, be careful not to burn this stuff, since it's a long process it's annoying to start over. Once you've done this, add a quart (4 cups) of Vegetable Stock. If you aren't vegetarian or vegan just add any stock you prefer. Also add 2 Bay Leaves, 1 tsp Thyme. 1 tsp Black Pepper, a dash of Cayenne for flavor, 1/2 pound of Okra, and half of a 15 oz. can of chopped Tomatoes. I got frozen chopped Okra, but if you can find the actual produce, by all means get it. It needs to be chopped in about 1/2 inch long pieces. Unless you like your gumbo super chunky. I also added seitan, but you can add tempeh or tofu. But you do this later in the cooking process.
Okay, let this all simmer for about 30 minutes. Then throw in the cubed Tempeh, cubed Tofu, or chopped Seitan. Simmer this for another 10-15 minutes. Serve this over some rice, and you're good to go.
When I did it, as mentioned before, I was rushed, so I only let it simmer for about 20, if that. Also, I was rushed on the Roux. So, that wasn't as dark and thick as I wanted it. The end result was still really delicious. If I did this again, I would take more time on the Roux, and I would let the soup simmer for longer. Also, I find that soup is always better the next day, or at least a couple hours later. I am not really sure why. Overall I enjoyed it. I have read that traditional Gumbo does not have Tomatoes in it though, but whatever.
First of all, you need to make a Roux. This is a heated mix of Oil and Flour. I do not suggest using olive oil because it has a low smoking point, but if you're careful you can use it. I used regular vegetable oil, but I have read Canola or Peanut Oil are really good for this. Of course you can use butter, but it generally calls for Ghee (clarified butter), which I did not feel like making or buying. There are ways to make Ghee at home, but I won't get into that here. Anyway, you mix about 1 part Oil and 1 part Flour. For the purposes of this recipe, it's a 1/4 cup of each. I actually put a little more Flour in, I would put closer to a 1/3 of a cup. You slowly mix in a little flour at a time over low/medium heat. After it is all mixed, you heat it anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour (this estimate is based on more than one Roux recipe I have read, since it is so variable I would suggest keeping a good eye on it and stopping when you feel it is a dark brown). It needs to be a nice dark brown. Make sure the Oil isn't smoking before you mix and you need to watch this pretty carefully to make sure it does not burn. Stir a bit every couple minutes or so. I did this in the same pot in which I was going to make the soup to facilitate the process.
Once you've made your roux sauté 1 chopped Onion, 1 chopped Bell Pepper, and 1 chopped Celery rib in the Roux and 2 cloves of Garlic. Coat all the chopped ingredients in the roux and sauté until the vegetables are soft. Obviously this varies depending on the stove. Mine takes about 6-8 minutes on medium low heat. Remember, be careful not to burn this stuff, since it's a long process it's annoying to start over. Once you've done this, add a quart (4 cups) of Vegetable Stock. If you aren't vegetarian or vegan just add any stock you prefer. Also add 2 Bay Leaves, 1 tsp Thyme. 1 tsp Black Pepper, a dash of Cayenne for flavor, 1/2 pound of Okra, and half of a 15 oz. can of chopped Tomatoes. I got frozen chopped Okra, but if you can find the actual produce, by all means get it. It needs to be chopped in about 1/2 inch long pieces. Unless you like your gumbo super chunky. I also added seitan, but you can add tempeh or tofu. But you do this later in the cooking process.
Okay, let this all simmer for about 30 minutes. Then throw in the cubed Tempeh, cubed Tofu, or chopped Seitan. Simmer this for another 10-15 minutes. Serve this over some rice, and you're good to go.
When I did it, as mentioned before, I was rushed, so I only let it simmer for about 20, if that. Also, I was rushed on the Roux. So, that wasn't as dark and thick as I wanted it. The end result was still really delicious. If I did this again, I would take more time on the Roux, and I would let the soup simmer for longer. Also, I find that soup is always better the next day, or at least a couple hours later. I am not really sure why. Overall I enjoyed it. I have read that traditional Gumbo does not have Tomatoes in it though, but whatever.
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