I had enough ingredients to put together an “improv” gumbo this morning.   Banjo Man is delirious with joy over the smells coming from the kitchen.

I didn’t have fresh vegetables.  So sad, but I raided the freezer.

A bag of frozen chopped green peppers?  Well, that’s different, but better than nothing.

A real onion!

A frozen ring of Andouille sausage.  Hurray!!

Where did these chicken thighs come from and how long have they been in the freezer?  Don’t ask.  They’re cooked and in the gumbo now.

How about if I use the New Orleans Cooking School gumbo spice instead of my usual concoction?  Why not?  This isn’t Christmas Eve or a special birthday dinner.  I can try something new with an audience of two.  And the guy from Nebraska is not fussy.

There is no celery.  Doesn’t matter, not today.  Not this month, even.

No okra hiding in the freezer, though we looked twice.  The grocery delivery arrives late this afternoon.  Whether or not the frozen bag of chopped okra is going to be in one of the bags is unknown.  In fact, we’ve begun calling these deliveries “Mystery Food”.

Check out that New Orleans School of Cooking spoon.  It cost $26.00.  But I love the design and the feel of it in my hand.  It made fabulous roux this morning on my fabulous gas stove burner.  No one is ever going to be allowed to touch that spoon–except me.

The sun is out, so while the rice is cooking I’m going to take a walk around the driveway and work up an appetite.

Maybe we’ll put on a New Orleans cd while we have lunch.