In my latest time travel adventure,
The
Last Timekeepers and the Noble Slave, a character named Delilah is
owned by the Taylor Plantation, and takes care of all the cooking at the big
house. In one scene, my protagonist Drake Bailey helps Delilah prepare her
coveted Orleans Gumbo soup for the Taylor family and their
special guests (a.k.a. the Timekeepers). Since this Timekeeper
mission takes place in antebellum Georgia during 1855, not all these
ingredients would have been available for Delilah, so I’m sure she did her best
to improvise with the foods and herbs available during that time period. I
thought it would be fun to share a gumbo dish, and looked up several recipes to
get the right concoction to re-create Delilah’s tasty brew. Though, as you can
imagine, I didn’t include a certain ingredient that Delilah added for fear of
being hexed or turned into a zombie.
What
You Need:
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked converted rice
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 pound boneless skinless chicken
breasts, cut into ½ inch cubes
½ pound smoked kielbasa or Polish
sausage, cut into ½ inch slices
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon pepper
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup cold water
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp,
peeled and deveined
1 large green pepper, chopped
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
What
You Do:
IN a large saucepan, bring broth to a
boil. Stir in the rice, celery, onion, and garlic. Reduce heat; cover and
simmer for 20 minutes.
MEANWHILE, in a Dutch oven, combine
the tomatoes, chicken, kielbasa, thyme, pepper, bay leaves, and cayenne. Bring
to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
COMBINE flour and water until smooth;
gradually stir into chicken mixture. Stir in shrimp and green pepper. Cook,
uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and gumbo
is thickened. Discard leaves.
REMOVE rice from heat and let stand
for 5 minutes; stir in parsley. Serve with gumbo.
With a prep time of 25 minutes, and
cook time of 20 minutes, this spicy dish serves 8 of your closest, and bravest,
family and friends. Remember to have plenty of water, wine, or beer at the
table to cool your palate between bites. Bon Appetit!
Here’s a taste of what to expect in
the third installment of The Last Timekeepers available for purchase on all
your online bookstores September 17th, 2021…
True freedom happens only when you choose to be free.
Eleven-year-old Drake Bailey is an
analytical thinker and the genius of the Timekeeper crew. However, no logic or
mathematical acumen can change the color of his skin, or prepare him for this
third Timekeeper mission in antebellum Georgia. To survive, Drake must learn to
play the role of a plantation slave and when confronted with the brutality,
hatred, and racism of the deep south, he’ll have to strategically keep one move
ahead of his sadistic captors to ensure his lineage continues.
In a dark world of Voodoo, zombies,
and ritualistic sacrifice, the Timekeepers must ensure a royal bloodline
survives. Can Drake remove both literal and figurative chains to save both
himself and a devout slave girl from a terrible fate? If he can’t summon the
necessary courage, humanity could stand to lose one of its greatest leaders.
Amazon
Buy Link