Wednesday dinner 26/05

The steamtable is full and ready for the campers to descend upon it. There is Rice Pilaf, baked Sweet Potato. Parsnip fries, steamed Asparagus,  Caribbean Black Bean stew and Shrimp, Chicken and Ham Garlic Sausage Gumbo. The sausage is locally made and tastes fantastic with a great texture, both characteristics of a good sausage. I am very fortunate to have two splendid individuals working with me this year. While one works with me doing prep the other is taking care of the baking. they switch positions every two weeks so they both get to try making new dishes or learning more about cooking.
At left is the Gumbo with a ladle full of shrimp and sausage. to finish the dish I reheated the sauce and added the leftover chicken cut into bite size pieces and the sausage, After this had simmered for and hour I added the shrimp and corrected the seasoning with a generous spoonful of de Arbol chili powder. The addition of the de Arbol gave the gumbo a very nice back heat as opposed to the front heat of the cayenne. I also added File Powder. the e in file has an accent over it. the file powder adds a bit of flavour but mostly it thickens the sauce
The vegetarian dish is actually a variation on the Caribbean Black Bean Stew. I added the yellow peppers and green onions for colour and added lime juice to the orange juice for a bit off zip. The stew is seasoned with allspice, cayenne, de arbol, and fresh thyme. Spicy goodness!
Below are avocados beautifully presented to go alongside the mixed greens salad. We mix Greenleaf and Romaine lettuce as well as Spring Mix, Arugula and Spinach and top off with Cucumber, Tomato,  Radish, Celery and Carrot.

Last but certainly not least is the Pecan Pie with whipped cream for dessert.