post-mortem of a flood

pot's on fiyah! the beginnings of a celebratory gumbo...a tad premature?

perhaps so, but that never stopped us from celebrating before.....

It's nearly 9:00am, and steadily raining – well, more like something between a drizzle and a rain. It's coolish (62F) and breezyish (5mph from the west) . . . perfect weather and a perfect time to put a pot of celebratory gumbo on the stove.

Some of you will remember the previous post on this blog (13 March), along with the facebook message I put out yesterday (20 March) detailing the ongoing saga of 12 March 2012's 10-15" Big Rain here just north of Lafayette. One week into the wake of the flood, and a number of us living just east of Bayou Vermilion are still boating to the blacktop (North Wilderness Trail, running atop Bayou Vermilion's east bank).

Yesterday, we were growing mighty anxious about the weather forecast calling for more deluge-type storms today. Presently, even though it's still raining, it appears we've dodged a cannonball, as the main squall line blew through 6:30-7:30 this morning, dropping only 1.25” more water up this way.

"crazy lil' thing, crazy lil' thing, how'd you get a name like crazy lil' thing?

prob'ly the name that drove you crazy, all along..." 

(quote by Captain Beefheart, photo by Russ Norwood http://www.perceptivist.com/)

As previously mentioned, even though it's still raining, we're partying. And we're not alone. Outside, the local chickadees didn't even wait for the deluge to end before breaking out into courtship songs. No mere calls, vaguely uttered, but fancy show-off courtship songs (a quasi-strident, “See-see See-Saw” repeated at frequent intervals. . . you know a chickadee's feelin' happy when he's singing this song). Presently, Carolina wrens and cardinals have joined in, piercing the cool drizzly air with songs of love.

So I'm like, “What the hey! There's no time like the present . . .Gumbo Party!”

Living most of my life down here along the Gulf Rim, I've noticed that most Gulf Rimmers pass time by generally just sitting around waiting for a reason to celebrate; and that down here in Cajunland our celebrations often turn out to be just a tad premature. Oh well. Better to have celebrated in vain than not to have celebrated at all, vous connais?

Anyway, it looks like 1-3" or so inches this go round is not going to seriously hamper the progress of our Big Drain. In fact, I'm hopeful that we'll be driving to our homes by Sunday (25 March). If that's the case, then we'll have boated for 13 straight days – one day shy of our record of 14 boat days, set during the May 2004 Mega Flood.

I asked for prayers in yesterday's facebook update. The responses from my friends were interesting. Some seemed taken aback that I'd even suggest that “God” would/could push the forecast rains elsewhere. After all, isn't that “childish at best and selfish at worst” type thinking? Well, no. Not to a believer. And yes, after decades of studying every spiritual belief system proposed by humankind, I remain an old-school Jesus-believer. By the same token, I certainly don't expect anyone else to believe like I believe.

(photo by Larry Amy or Kevin Courville . . . or possibly, both)

Sometimes it seems the real childishness and selfishness of it all lies in the notion that we can actually find human words to satisfactorily describe What's Going On. Truly, It's beyond all that, else it wouldn't be “God.” I mean, if we humans could actually define “God,” that ain't saying much for “God,” you know?

On David Byrne & Brian Ferry's mid-70s record album, “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” the preacher man said, “....He's so HIGH, you can't get over Him; He's so LOW, you can't get under Him; He's so BIG, you can't get around Him....”

(photo by Edward Watson)

Pardon me if this seems personal, but How big is your God? Does God fill your Universe? Might God go beyond the Universe as well? Can God fill you? To the point where it becomes your heart, and not your mind, that speaks and acts and runs your show? These are good questions to ponder. . .

So, grateful thanks to all those who prayed for us, all those who thought about us, and all those who directed dry vibes our way. . . and as always, to God.

Now on to the Celebratory Gumbo. Like my spiritual beliefs, it's an old school recipe. Old school southern Evangeline parish chicken & sausage gumbo. With a twist. Unlike the gumbos of Lafayette & New Orleans, “cajun prairie gumbo” is thinner – closer to carmel-brown than chocolate-brown. This is accomplished by simply adding a little more water. Emphasis on “a little.”

A thinner gumbo reveals way more complexity of flavor than a thick one. That's because roux is so powerful that it easily masks the more delicate flavors of the meat and vegetables. So you dilute it, and whoa! The taste.

So I start with about 2 cups of dark roux mixed with about a quart of water and a quart of chicken stock. Heat only to a simmer while stirring (to keep the roux from sticking to the bottom of the pot) in order to dissolve all the roux. Once fairly well dissolved (a half-hour) turn fire lower, and add 2 chopped onions, 1 chopped bell pepper, a couple of tablespoons of minced garlic, and 3-4 ribs of fine-chopped celery.

Initially, I season with about 1 rounded teaspoon of black pepper, 1 rounded tablespoon of cayenne pepper, and 2 rounded tablespoons of salt. Toward the end, I recheck seasoning, adding more if necessary. Be careful with the salt, however, as chicken stock can have a lot; and you really want to use chicken stock in this thing.

Add another quart of chicken stock and another quart of water (now you've got a total of 1 gallon of water/stock invested) and turn up the fire to a slow, rolling boil.

After about 45-60 minutes, add 1lb. sliced smoked sausage (I use turkey, but southern Evangeline parish tradition calls for pure pork) and 1 hen, cut-up. Then 1-2 cups each of chopped onion tops & flat parsley. Keep it on a slow roll for another 2-3 hours, adding water to replace that which has steamed off (that keeps it thin!), and you're almost done.

Turn off the fire and let cool for an hour, allowing the oil from the roux & chicken & sausage to float/pool up to the surface. Skim as much of this oil off as you can, using either a big spoon or soup ladle. Then check seasoning, adding if necessary, and add another cup each of chopped onion top and parsley. Now you're done!

So “my twist” I guess is in adding celery and in “double-adding” onion top and parsley. The result is a super-fine, hearty-yet-very-digestible, veggie-tainted gumbo. It's health food I tell you.