Special Delivery

Our 1st box of fresh organic produce was delivered to our front door!! I am so ecstatic about this new venture for my family. I'm so motivated to cook more. I love cooking. I love food! I get so annoyed and frustrated having taste buds like I do and having a husband with none!! He's so picky. We received a honeydew melon, grapes, sweet peppers, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil, lemon cucumbers, arugula and okra. Maybe a few others...it's late in the day for me to remember such details. So, tonight we had the missionaries from church over for dinner. I signed up to feed them months ago so I was surprised to get a note on my door confirming our dinner tonight. (I got the note at 3. Dinner was at 5!!) I called them and confirmed. Bruce spruced up the house while I began cooking. Can I tell you how fabulous it was for me to make a gorgeous green salad with arugula(YUM!), tomatoes, lemon cucumber and sweet pepper varieties that were all picked fresh on Thursday! I added slices of fresh mozzarella to appease my husband who must have cheese in his green salad.(I'm all about cheese too so that's OK but he refused to try by salad because of the arugula.) It was great! I made a quick spaghetti sauce with all fresh veggies...and of course, french bread & BUTTER!! On a side note, My Uncle Jerry has been in the restaurant bus. for a long time...He's also a great cook. There's high pressure when your around him on food choices..I'd normally be nervous to feed him. When my Grandma was dying, my sister & I were busy caring for her physical needs while my uncle kept all of us well fed...(If you have to deal with death, GREAT FOOD IS A MUST!) I'm looking for a really cool recipe using my crazy produce selections to wow him with. My challenge with this box is the Okra. I've heard of Okra, but honestly, had no idea what it is or what to do with it. Thanks to our dear friend "Google", I figured it out. Here is a recipe that I want to try:




CHICKEN & OKRA GUMBO(You've gotta love the south)
Ingredients:

* 3 1/2 pounds frying chicken
* 1 onion, cut in chunks
* celery leaves
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 5 cups reserved broth
* 6 slices bacon, diced
* 1 pound smoked andouille or smoked sausage, sliced 1/4" thick
* 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
* 2 green bell peppers, chopped
* 2 celery ribs, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes
* 1 can (approx. 15 ounces) tomato puree
* 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
* 1 package (10 ounces) frozen sliced okra, thawed
* 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme or 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme

Preparation:
Combine chicken, the onion chunks, celery leaves, and salt in a Dutch oven or large kettle; add water to cover. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 45 minutes. or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken, reserving 5 cups of the chicken broth; discard onion and celery leaves. Remove chicken from bones; cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.

Cook bacon and sausage in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Remove bacon and sausage, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in Dutch oven. Crumble bacon; set bacon and sausage aside. Add onion, pepper, celery, and garlic to Dutch oven; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender. Add chicken, bacon, sausage, reserved broth (should be approximately 5 cups), tomatoes, and remaining ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours.

I'll let you know how it turns out....I think I'm going to make this a regular feature on my blog...Good Eats from Tanja's Kitchen(or whomever's I steal it from)