I have kept and used this gumbo recipe for at least 40 years. I know there are shorter versions and seasoning packets that make gumbo easier, but I still like to use my old stand-by recipe.

When possible, I use fresh vegetables. A good time to make the gumbo stock is when the vegetables are in season, and then you can freeze it in zip-top bags and use as needed.

And if you can get tomatoes, okra, onion, celery and green peppers from your own garden, it will be that much more enjoyable. If you don't have a garden, visit a produce stand or farmers market and find out when you can get these ingredients, especially the tomatoes and okra, from a local farmer at the peak of the season. For us in Baldwin County, summertime yields delicious tomatoes, peppers and okra!

Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients

• ¼ cup bacon grease or (1/2 stick butter)
• 1 large chopped green pepper
• 4 cups chopped onion
• 3 cups chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
• 3 10 ¾-ounce cans chicken broth
• 3 10 ¾-ounce cans beef broth
• 6 cans water
• 3 cups okra, thawed, sliced
• 6 small bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Gumbo Filé
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 pounds cleaned medium shrimp
• 2 pounds crab meat
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
• 1 cup Creole roux mix

Preparation

Place tomatoes, chicken broth, beef broth and water in a large, heavy pot with a lid. Turn heat on medium and cover with lid.

In a frying pan, sauté onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic in hot bacon grease. Add this to large pot with liquid.

Add okra and bay leaves and cover. Cook for 2 hours.

Add roux, shrimp, crab, chicken, salt, pepper, thyme leaves and Creole seasoning.

Cook 20 minutes. Cut off heat, remove bay leaves and add gumbo filé. Mix well before serving. Serve over rice.

This makes a very large pot of gumbo and will serve 24 or more people. You can easily divide this recipe in half.

From the scriptures

Spiritual food is essential for all of us, as well as physical food. We should nourish our mind and feed our spirit daily just as we feed our body. To memorize a weekly Bible Verse is a fabulous spiritual food. Try it, and you will see how easy it is to memorize scripture.

Our memory verse for this week is Matthew 7:12: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”