Gumbo

Around here gardens are winding down. We recently had a relative bring us some okra, peppers, green onions and tomatoes along with some fresh green beans. I love okra and saw my chance to make some gumbo. If you've never had okra, it does take a little getting used to as far as the goo-iness. Don't use "woody" ones - ones that are a bit too ripe and hard (don't worry you'll know when you start cutting them).

Since we have an abundance of home frozen creamed sweet corn, I put in lots of corn, making sure it was thawed before adding it to the crock pot. I doubled the recipe for our large crock pot.

Here is a crock pot recipe for an easy meal:

Gumbo

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, diced

3 whole cloves (like the spice, not garlic)

2 cups diced tomatoes

4 cups stock

1 cup lima beans

2 cups corn

1 1/2 cup sliced okra

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Saute the onions, peppers, and cloves. Then remove cloves and put all the ingredients into the crock pot. Make sure everything is thawed and not frozen solid (like creamed sweet corn can be). Slow cook on high for 6 hours or 8-10 hours on low. Adjust seasonings as needed.