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!