Its Gumbo time

I'm not a Louisiana native.  I'm not a Virginia native either, I just wound up here.  I spent a long part of my life, comparatively, in Louisiana.  Again, I just wound up there and then I decided to stick around.  I would still be there if not for 9/11.  Louisiana is a different kinda place.  There is a large European influence, but it is 100% America.  Louisiana had a huge impact on me.  One of the things I miss dearly about the Sportsman's Paradise is the food.  Louisiana food, and I mean South Louisiana food, is very different from other American rural cooking traditions.  The Acadian people who were exiled to South Louisiana from Canada were thrust into an unfriendly, inhospitable region on the deep south.  They managed to make a living and even thrive in the swamps and bayous.  They learned to incorporate the local flora and fauna into their diets, out of necessity, and they turned what others still often wrinkle their noses at into gastronomical wonders.  Gumbo is one of those wonders.  Gumbo is one of those dishes that every Cajun family makes differently.  It is Louisiana's chili, or borscht.  My best buddy is from a real Cajun family in Vacherie in Saint James Parish.  If you've ever seen a picture of Oak Alley Plantation or seen it in the movie Vampire Diaries you have seen Vacherie, Louisiana.  Of course, Oak Alley is a representation of what antebellum wealth was like in Vacherie.  Most folks in Vacherie are simple, hard working, salt of the earth folks, like my buddy's family.  My first real gumbo was at his house.  His family spoke French at home, mostly because his grandmother didn't speak English very well.   I've learned a little about Cajun cooking over the years and I put it to work for me when I make gumbo.  Gumbo is cold weather food.  The major variants include either seafood, shrimp mostly, or fowl and sausage.  Today mine is made from leftover Thanksgiving turkey and andoulle sausage.  Chicken and sausage is very common, duck and sausage is one of my favorites (another reason to start raising ducks) but its not uncommon to hear of whatever meat is available going into the gumbo.  Game meat is pretty common.  Squirrel, rabbit, and robin appear in gumbo, deer sausage is not uncommon.  Gumbo is comfort food in my house.  It reminds me of my adopted home in Louisiana and it tastes great.