Anyone still want any Gumbo?

After my mussel adventure last weekend, this started a spark to see if my parents would want to try my fabulous mussels, so I started slow...with it being summertime, and so many amazing things in season, I decided to make a fresh pot of homemade gumbo. Of course this was still coming from my inspiration from the week before, but I had never tried making my own gumbo, and wanted to give it a shot. Again, I looked through my Whole Foods App, and found two recipes that I decided to tweek a little bit. I did not want to make "roux" or use file powder like most traditional gumbos, so this is why it's my own :)

(with a little inspiration from whole foods of course)

Chicken Gumbo with Fresh Okra and Corn

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

Sea salt

Ground pepper

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped with leaves

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 pound fresh cut okra

4 ears fresh corn kernels, shucked and cut off

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 teaspoons bay seasoning

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Sea salt, to taste

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper

12 raw peeled large shrimp, fresh or frozen (optional)

1/2 lb mussels (optional)

Cooked long-grain white or brown rice

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Brown chicken on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add garlic and sauté briefly, until lightly golden. Add pepper, celery and onion to pot and cook, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add flour and stir into vegetables until well coated. Add tomatoes, okra, corn, stock, bay seasoning, thyme, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir well, cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the shrimp and mussels and cover. Cook, stirring gently occasionally, until mussels open and shrimp is pink, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately over rice.

Parents liked the mussels, and it was fabulous with the gumbo....I think with a little more tweeking, I have a good start on a great gumbo recipe...can't wait to make more! Oh wait, I still have some...anyone want leftovers??

...check out these guns...

Two weeks ago, me and a fellow friend of mine, Amanda went to eat at the fabulous Little Savannah in Forest Park as kind of a "splurge/treat ourselves well" kinda night. We started off with the Lobster Caprese, and then while I had the braised pork cheeks with polenta she had this wonderful bowl of different types of seafood in this amazing broth that we did not know how to pronounce, ha. Our meal was amazing and it was a wonderful night of conversation, drinks (including 3 homemade cellos that about kicked our butt) and fabulous food. While we were trying each others entrees, she opted to get me to try a mussel because I had never had one before. I knew I would probably like it because I like oysters, but I actually liked them even more. Maybe it was the combination of everything in the bowl along with the amazing broth, but I seriously went to bed that night and woke up at 5am thinking about making my own big bowl of broth and mussels!

While I was awake, I searched in bed on my blackberry for recipes for this wonderful concoction called Cioppino. I found two recipes on Whole Food's website that I liked, so that was my mission for the day.

With it being summertime, I love eating seafood, even when I'm not at the beach, so if you're in the mood for something different, here is my recipe for Mediterranean Cioppino with Bacon, if you want to see both recipes you can find it here and here.

Mediterranean Cioppino with Bacon

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 slices smokehouse bacon, diced

1 1/2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded

1/2 lb medium peeled and deveined shrimp

1 shallot, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup white wine

2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup chopped Kalamata olives

6 leaves basil, chopped

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

For the mussels, soak mussels in a bowl of cool water for 20 minutes to help remove any sand. Drain, rinse well, then drain again.

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add oil, shallots, garlic and bacon and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until garlic is soft and bacon is cooked but not crispy. Add tomatoes, broth, wine, vinegar, sugar and salt and bring to a simmer; cook for 10 minutes. Add butter, allow to melt, then add mussels, and shrimp cover and simmer for 8 minutes, or until mussels open and shrimp is pink; discard any unopened mussels. Stir in olives, basil and zest.

Scoop mussels and their broth into bowls and serve with warm bread on the side.

*this is also great topped over linquine pasta!

For the first time making this, it turned out about as amazing as I would have dreamed of it at five am!

Meet Scout! :)

She's finally here! Scout was born on May 18th! I had been waiting patiently to see how many puppies were going to be born, and there were 7 total, 4 boys and 3 girls. Upon seeing the photos of the girls, I immediately knew that the only black and white girl was for me. I'm so excited, and know that she was meant to be mine.

I'll get more photos as she grows more and more, and I'll travel to Tennessee the middle of July to pick her up and bring her HOME!

Delicious Ambiguity...

"..I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity..."- Gilda Radner

This quote is one of my favorites. It was said by one of history's greatest female comedians, the great Gilda Radner. I'm at the point in my life where this quote makes sense to me more then ever before. There's been so much that has happened this year, good and bad, that you have to take the bad with the good sometimes and make the best of it. You pursue your life with great intention, even when you are not even sure where that will lead you.

The day that I have longed for, for so long finally arrived on Saturday. I graduated college. For some, it's an easy four year road, but for others, life gets in the way sometimes and it takes longer...however, in the end, like "they" say, it's not the destination, it's the journey. My journey has been an interesting one, but now that it's finally over, I'm finding myself nervous, anxious, excited, and scared. Excited to know that there's hopefully many possibilities out there awaiting me, but scared because I am afraid that if I try to pursue my dream and a job with my degree, I will be held back due to our country's insurance program.

"Yes, I would love to intern with you Metropolitan Museum of Art, but first question, do you have insurance for your interns?"

No, I of course did not get a job with the Met, but this is my reality. Sadly, getting my degree and pursuing what I want to do is overshadowed by making sure I have health insurance. This is not right, when I am forced to take a bank teller job after graduating with an Art History degree, and work a mediocre 8 to 5 job, just to be covered to see my doctor.

I have loved my job working at the gallery, however Maralyn is going to be retiring this year, and the business will be retiring with it. I have gained so much experience working with Maralyn these years, and hope to take what I have learned (along with her great networking connections) with me to another creative type job adventure.

I hope that I am able to look around and research enough to know what is out there to use my experience to it's full potential. I have a few people helping me make the most kick-ass resume, where I will start the ever-so wonderful job hunting. Wish me luck, Hey, maybe Carnival Cruise Lines needs someone to help with their wonderful "Art Auctions"?

Taking a moment and making the best of it has been somewhat a motto for me this past month. From finishing school, finding a job, and with dealing with ending a miserable year of a 3 year relationship and losing a pet you so dearly loved for two years. Needless to say, it's been a stressful, but growing month. However, the best way to get over losing a pet and losing love, is to fill the void and give your love that you had for that pet, to another one.

For months, I had already decided that I would have my own dog, for obvious reasons, but debated on keeping the same breed that has had so many connections and memories, or as my friends have pushed me, to adopt from a shelter. After much debate with myself, and looking online at shelter's, no other dog has the same connection to me, as the cocker spaniels have been in my life. They are just for me. So after contacting the same breeder where Lila came from, one of her dogs is due to have a litter of puppies any day now. I know that this new puppy will not be Lila, but she will fill that void, and she will be mine and no one can ever take her away. This has been an experience that I would never wish on anyone, but I hope that happier times are ahead.

I will definitely post pictures as soon as I have them. So be on the look out for Jean Louise "Scout" Turnipseed :)

Ok, nice to chat blog, told you I would be back...see you again soon...

Spring is Here!

So first I need to apologise to my blog, (Ahem, ::clearing throat:::) "Blog, Life of a Turnip, I'm sorry that I've neglected you these past few months, but I promise to spend more time with you from now on."Things have been kinda crazy since October, as life tends to be sometimes, but I will try to pay a little more attention to you from now on.

Ok, now that that's settled, the thing that keeps bringing me back to blogging is whenever I find a great food recipe to share. Last week was a very stressful week with projects, a paper, and exam all in one week (graduation coming up in May!) so of course what do I want when I need some comfort?...my soups...I tend to keep exploring my New England Soup Factory Book, but this one comes from one of the many food blogs I subscribe to and who I look up to maybe one day becoming myself. It comes from Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan who writes a blog titled "the kitchn". She told the story of a girls trip where they made a soup using of course seasonal ingredients. Since we are just into spring, this recipe really interested me using the flavors of winter Parsnips, with Potato and Crab. Using the winter ingredients of Parsnips, and combining them with other ingredients I believed was a good soup to try since we are barely into spring. Tweeking the recipe a little myself, it turned out to be one of my greatest soups made so far.

Now is the perfect time to make this soup, so go to your local grocery store today and try it!

Barely Spring Parsnip, Potato and Crab Soup serves 6-8
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 leek, white part mostly with little green, sliced into thin rings (save a little for the roasted topping)
5-6 red potatoes, chopped
5-7 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons peeled, minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3-5 cups vegetable or chicken stock, enough to cover
1/2 pound cooked lump crab meat (I used a little more cause I love crab)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Chopped Italian parsley, mint, cilantro to garnish with roasted leeks


In a 4-6 quart pot over medium flame, heat 2 Tb. olive oil. When glistening, sweat the onion, leek, potato, parsnips, garlic and ginger with the salt for a few minutes until onions are translucent, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.





Add the stock to cover, bring to a boil then lower heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.


In a roasting pan, add enough leeks mixed with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper, Roast in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until brownish. Put aside for garnish.







With an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth then add cream and blend again. Add crab and cook another 2-3 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt if needed and freshly ground black pepper.









Serve warm and garnish with chopped herbs and roasted leeks. Enjoy and welcome spring!

One of my favorite times of the year...

So August and September came and went, it's amazing how fast these two months went by, when June and July felt like it would never end. I guess that's due to school starting back, busy new season of shows at the gallery, and fooooootball.

October is one of my favorite months in the year, besides my birthday month of February and December. I love October because in Alabama, that is when you really start to see the change into fall and finally feel that 70 degree weather you have been wishing for in the heat of a hot sticky summer. I love that first morning when you turn on your heat and first smell that "heat" smell, something about that comforts me. I love seeing pumpkins arriving at the grocery stores with bails of hay, scarecrows, and the smell of the Cinnamon brooms. I love getting up on Saturday mornings, knowing that it's going to be filled with either going to a football game, or watching it with your loved ones on TV (when I'm not working, but even so, thanks to the power of Internet, I can still manage). And of course, when it comes to the month of October, who can't love Halloween?

One of my earliest Halloween memories of dressing up, was as a clown. Ironically funny that today, I don't really care for clowns, something about them freaks me out (maybe it was the movie "It"?) Another year I was a Southern Bell in a huge dress with a hoop that was purchased in a bag at Party City with my friend/neighbor Eva. As an adult, I have been a devil (for a heaven/hell party), a flapper, and my favorite so far, Rainbow Brite....

I was thinking if I was to dress up this year, which I am not sure if I am or not, but if I was, what I would be? There are two options that really interest me right now. The first choice is to be Edie Sedgwick. For those that don't know who she was, I urge you to watch the movie "Factory Girl." Edie Sedgwick was a 60's icon, and was part of Andy Warhol's Factory entourage that stared in his many movies. Her life fascinates me, for she also was an artist herself, and was involved with Bob Dylan shortly. However, if I was to have all the "Edie" things that she wore (mostly huge dangle earrings, black tights and a short sweater or top) I think people would just think I was a 60's chick. Unless I had a cardboard cut out of Andy Warhol next to me, or someone dressed as him or Bob Dylan, I would be spending the whole night explaning who I was, and for most people, wouldn't even know. So sadly, there will be no Edie this year...

Fabulous Edie...

Now if I was a kid today, I would no doubt be Coraline! I absolutely loved that movie from start to finish! I love any movie that is made in stop action animation, and this one is my new favorite. She's clever, resourceful and brave, and I like to see a little bit of myself in her when I was that age (except my parents didn't have buttons for eyes). Wherever I spend Halloween, I hope I see some young girls dressed up as this curious purple haired girl.

Now when it comes to Halloween, I am NOT one that goes to Haunted Houses. When I was 9 years old, my Mom and my stepdad took my stepbrother and I to the local Jaycee's Haunted House. I remember standing in line for what seemed like hours, thinking about it more and more, and when I started asking questions, every person told me that NO ONE would touch me or grab me. Well as soon as we entered inside, someone grabbed my leg from a set up from the "people under the stairs" and I was done. I wanted an exit right then and there, and I haven't been back to one since. Now don't get me wrong, I love Halloween and I'm obsessed with watching anything about the paranormal/ghost hunters, give me the scariest movie ever made with the bloodiest scenes imaginable, but please do not take me to a commercially/marketed Haunted House where I know someone with a chainsaw is going to run after me. Please, I'll take a REAL haunted house any other day of the week, just give me my EMF detector...

With that being said, I also wanted to list some of my all time favorite horror movies, which some you may know, others you may not. With Halloween coming soon, I love to watch at least one or try to watch parts of them a day, it's just not Halloween without it...just like candy corn...

14. Arachnophobia - Though many folks might consider this a comedy first and a horror film a distant second anyone with even the slightest fear of spiders will feel their skin literally crawl when they watch this creepy spider flick starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman. I still to this day, check my shoes sometimes before I put them on...

13. Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, "B-Horror Movies" - Speaking of films with comedic elements to them, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy certainly fits that mold. Bruce Campbell is stellar, as Ash who battles the legions of hell with a shotgun and chainsaw. Endlessly quotable, this film could easily make a list of the best comedy movies of all time, yet still belongs in any self-respecting horror fan's DVD collection.

12. Poltergeist - Now, being a child of the 80's, there are few images in the horror movie genre that are as enduring as the little girl sitting in front of the TV, communicating with the poltergeist that haunts her family's house. Steven Spielberg's classic is easily one of the best horror movies from the 80s.

11. Teen Witch-Another 80s movie and one of my favorite movies growing up, no matter if it was Halloween or not. Awkward teen Louise dreams of a date with high school football hero Brad but she's so shy that Brad barely notices her. Louise's luck changes on her 16th birthday when she learns that she's descended from a long line of witches. Great music as well!

10. The Witches-Another favorite growing up as a kid, from one of my favorite author's as a child, Ronald Dahl. A young boy named Luke and his grandmother spend vacation time together in a seaside town. Little did they know their hotel houses some very unusual and rather scary guests: witches. They're in town for a convention to listen to the Grand High Witch unveil her master plan to turn all children into mice. Also The Worst Witch was another childhood favorite done by HBO in 1986 with Tim Curry as the Grand Wizard who all the girls swooned over and I never understood why, oh well, still love the film.

9. A Nightmare on Elm Street - One of the horror genre's most iconic characters made his debut in this 1984 Wes Craven classic. I refer to Freddy Krueger, of course, the burned up hat and sweater wearing serial killer with knives for fingers. Robert Englund is perfectly cast in the role as Freddy, and though the rest of the film is mostly filled with no-name actors, a young Johnny Depp made his jump to the big screen in one of the scariest movies during the 80s along with Friday the 13th.

8. House of Wax-In this spine-tingling film (one of the first 3D movies ever made) Vincent Price thrills as Professor Henry Jarrod, the creepy curator of a wax museum who loses his beloved business to a fire and then rebuilds it. This time, though, he doesn't use wax models, but a ghoulish alternative: dead bodies. It can't be Halloween without Vincent Price.

7. Saw - Though this franchise has quickly grown tired due to the too many sequel syndrome, the original film starring Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell as two strangers who wake up in a room, chained up with a dead body in between them was an instant classic. Another movie with more than its share of twists, the gore factor is nothing to sneeze at either. If you're a horror film fan who has somehow missed this one, and you can stomach the blood, definitely add it to your DVD collection.

6. Friday the 13th - Speaking of movies that have spawned sequels it is hard to think of another movie in any genre that has given birth to more progeny than this 1980 horror classic about a murderous mom who goes on a murderous rampage at a summer camp to avenge her dead son, Jason Voorhees. In future films Jason would take the reins, coming back from the grave to deliver his own bloody brand of justice., but none of the many sequels could top the original.

5. The Blair Witch Project - Much like Scream did in 1996, 1999's The Blair Witch Project temporarily turned the horror genre on its ear. The movie is definitely not for those who suffer from any sort of motion sickness as the entire film is shaky cam footage from a handheld video camera. However the story about 3 film students who disappear while hunting the Maryland woods for the Blair Witch is definitely creepy, and it is one of those movies that will cling to your psyche for a few days after you watch it. Thankfully this one didn't spawn copycats like Scream did. I don't think my stomach could have taken more than one film like that. However, I can not wait to find someone who is brave enough to see, what I believe is to compete with the Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity!

4. Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock has made many classic films including The Birds, Rear Window and Strangers on a Train, however his horror masterpiece is indisputably his 1960 slasher film Psycho. Perhaps Hitchcock's greatest achievement was his casting of the cadaverous Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. You know a movie has had a huge influence on pop culture when all you need to say is "shower scene" and everyone in the room knows immediately which movie you are referring to. Psycho is a true horror film classic and is just as frightening today as it was nearly 50 years ago. Classic.

3. Halloween - This is pure testament that music can really set the mood of a scary movie and John Carpenter's Halloween is one of those movies. Whenever that music starts playing you'll find yourself holding your breath as you wait to see what horrors homicidal maniac Michael Myers will visit on his victims. Like most popular horror franchises this one spawned plenty of bloody sequels, including the dreadful Halloween H20, but none could come close to the high standard set by the original.

2. The Shining - Stephen King winds up on this list of course, but out of all his movies, The Shining has to take the cake (other then "It" apparently for me). Jack Nicholson is absolutely perfectly cast as father, novelist and hotel caretaker Jack Torrance who loses his grip on sanity due to a combination of cabin fever and a haunting presence in the hotel. A spine-shivering downward spiral of psychopathic violent behavior ensues. This collaboration of the disturbed minds of novelist Stephen King, director Stanley Kubrick and actor Jack Nicholson make The Shining indescribably creepy. No matter how many times you've seen it, watch it again. It will never fail to spook you. I would love to see this at a drive-in someday, so much fun.

1. The Exorcist - Only a movie this scary, this disturbing, this powerful could top The Shining for the number one spot on the list of the best horror movies of all time. I believe that movies with a religious theme seem to evoke more powerful responses from people and that is certainly the case in this highly disturbing film about demonic possession. Though I am not old enough to have seen this 1973 film when it came out in theaters,however it has been told that people walked out of the theaters in droves during the movie, physically or spiritually sickened by what they were seeing. I can think of no higher praise for the power of a horror film.

Happy October Everyone!

The thing that comforts me...

So much as happened since my last blog. So much in fact, that I'm not going to spill it all out. So here is just the short and sweet version.

1. Parkside dream is gone, look forward to Parkside Cafe/Bar coming soon

2. Moved back to the parentals for the time being, after moving three times since April..

3. Going to bust my ass and finish my last two semesters to finally graduate school, even if it kills me..

4. Soon giving up one of the best things in my life, after already losing so much...by that meaning Lila..

...that's just a small portion of how much my life has changed, and keeps changing...today would have been a celebration, instead I'm finding the little comforts to keep moving...

So all in all, a lot of changes within three months time...but everything happens for a reason, even if you don't understand right now what reason that may be...all in time and patience..

During these past months, I've of course needed some good comforts...one being food, and especially homemade soups...yes, even during the summer...

One afternoon, I came home from work to a countertop filled with fresh, ripe tomatoes from the farmer's market that my mom's aunt gave her. So I took those beautiful tomatoes and took out my stockpot and proceeded to make a batch of Tomato, Corn, and Basil Soup from my favorite cookbook from the New England Soup Factory. It is my goal to make every single soup in this book because each one seems amazing. Everyone couldn't understand that I was making soup in 90 degree weather. I'm totally infatuated with soup, and I just couldn't let those tomatoes, which come around only once a year, go to waste on sandwiches...enjoy this recipe, and hopefully it will give you some comfort too....

3 Tb butter

3 cups tomato juice

2 lg Spanish onions, diced

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

5 carrots, peeled and diced

2 tea. sugar

2 ribs celery, diced

1 bunch fresh basil, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tb balsamic vinegar

8 lg, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

8 cups veg. or chicken stock

Kernels of 5 ears fresh corn

Kosher salt and freshly black pepper, to taste

In a stockpot heat the butter over med-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute for 10 min. stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and saute an additional 5 min. Add the stock, tomato juice, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 25-30 min, or until all of the vegetables are soft and tender.

Add the sugar, fresh basil, and vinegar. Puree the soup in the pot with a hand blender or working in batches with a blender until smooth. Add the corn kernels to the soup and return the pot to med-high heat. Simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes until the corn is cooked and the soup is heated through. Season with S&P. Makes 12 servings.