cold

2 Soups That Warm The Soul

10:46 PM

So this weekend I had a shoot out of town. I stayed in a super fabulous hotel with two of my children and my best friend.

Life was good.  The party went great. The hotel stay was great and my kids had a great time.

The only downside?

Traveling 3 hours back home in a car with no heat. Yes.

That was my life.

No heat.

While my teeth chattered and I reminded myself that many before heated cars, traveled way further with no heat, I got to thinking of the most warming foods.

And here you have it...while I suffered riding with my toes slowly turning to icicles and bundling coats on my little ones in the back seat, here are two recipes I think would more than warm the soul and your toes.



Brunswick Stew


From what I can gather of this, it is usually and typically made from any leftover meats and veggies you have from the week. I first heard of this when it was regularly on the menu in the winter months at the end of the week at the gas station down from my house. (Yep, gas stations in the south, have bonefide cooks and stuffs in their kitchens...aint no half stepping here!)


Menudo


My mom's family is from Texas. While they are not Mexican or of any other descent that I know of, they are very well versed in Mexican foods. I remember one Christmas spent with my late uncle, boiling a hog head and grinding it for tamales. It was epic. I never did taste those hog head tamales and nor did I ever taste his menudo.

When one of my cousins posted a bowl of homemade menudo, I was interested. I took to youtube and discovered that there was a canned Menudo that got rave reviews. While I still have to get over the texture of the tripe, this soup was so dang good! And I only had it from the can! I can only imagine what the real deal tastes like.

No matter what recipe you use, these are ideas to expand upon. Let me know what you think or if you have a recipe that will knock my socks off.

african

Liberian Pepper Soup: Coming Soon

11:13 PM





I traveled to Chicago last week and as always it was a food addict's paradise.

I had the honor and my stomach had the priviledge of dining on a traditional African dish: Pepper Soup.

Oh. My. Word.

It is not the easiest or most appealing thing to photograph but trust me. It. Is. GOOD.

Aint nothing like this soup. It kinda reminds me of the story, Stone Soup. A little bit of everything is put in this but the crushed eggplant, okra and tons of seafood make this dish spectacular.

Crab. Chicken. Roasted turkey. Fish. Neckbones. Snails. Mussels. Shrimp. Steak.  It is like a meat heaven.

Add in some fufu and yes!

I will be recreating this dish soon. I only hope I can find snail meat locally. Here's to hoping the Asian Food Market has something for me. The snails is my favorite part.

african

African Cassava Leaf Stew With Rice

11:45 PM



I just recently returned from a week long trip to Chicago. I was there to photograph the Chicago Fashion Week debut of children's fashion designer, Alexandria Olivia and I had booked a few headshot and editorial sessions.

While it was mostly work, I was there to also enjoy some good food.

Being in Mississippi, there are limitations as to what we can experience. I know, I know...but yes, it is true. The designer I was commissioned to work for is of African descent. While there in Chicago, I was so thankful to experience authentic African food that literally made me say, "yesssssss".

One of the foods  I tried was called Cassava Leaf Stew with rice. 

Oh my. It was so good.

Full of all kinds of meats and  earthy ground leaves, it had me wanting to bring it on back to Mississippi.



And I did just that, I brought back some cassava leaves and palm oil -- determined, I made this delicous meal at home for my family.

I used beef neckbones, chicken, mussels and shrimp but the meat possibilities are endless. This is a hearty African comfort food that is perfect for these impending cool winter nights.

It was a hit and even my mom with her picky palate went back for seconds.

Here is a recipe I followed that you can try. Of course, cassava leaves and palm oil are not readily available in all areas. Check your local ethnic markets or online. It is so worth it.

*I served mine with parboiled rice. My mom, being the ultimate southerner and despite boiling the meat with a habenero, added hot sauce*


food

Gumbo Round Up....

2:41 PM



Here in the South, when it starts cooling off, all the pots come out. No more humid and sweaty summers swatting 'squitos and box fans, we gear up for soup and stew season.

It is still somewhat hot down here, but occasionally we get a cool breeze and witness a few leaves falling to the ground. That is more than enough reason for us to get ready for fall and winter and start gearing our pots up for warm gooey, soupey, stewey goodness.

One of our staples at my house during the cooler months, is gumbo.  It is a cajun dish with a roux base and loaded with okra, tomatoes, shrimp, chicken and sausage.

It is not the easiest dish to photograph, but oh it is so comforting. We usually serve with some saltine crackers and with some rice.

Here are some that have caught my eye on the internet. Hopefully, I will photograph some this fall and share my mom's recipe for it with you. Until then, consider adding this to your fall and winter meal rotation.

This looks so much like the one my mom makes. Oh yeah. Recipe over at The Gridiron Girl's Guide to the Good Life.


Oh look! Pretty! This one seems a bit thicker than what we serve in the south, but oh it looks like it would be heaven with some rice! Recipe at Saveur for chicken and sausage gumbo.


I like that this is called "Gumbo-laya". Two winter and fall favorites in one! Recipe can be found at The Cozy Apron.


This one right here....ohhhhh weeee. Crab added, why yes, sir!  A nice seafood gumbo recipe from Leite's Culinaria

I can't wait to make my own this fall. My kids have already asked me when the chili, chicken and dumplings and gumbo are going to be made. I guess they are ready for fall too.




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Divian Conner