Gumbo!

Hey ya'll! Because no Southern cookbook is complete without a gumbo recipe, I developed this tasty Tempeh Gumbo last night:

Honestly, it was my first time making gumbo, but I followed some roux-makin' instructions from an omni recipe. Then I added no-chicken broth, the mandatory okra and tomatoes, some other yummy veggies, and my favorite faux-meat-of-the-moment, tempeh. I love how a good roux creates a thick, hearty stew. Perfect for warmin' my bones on these cold winter nights. Memphis actually got a light dusting of snow Tuesday night — a rariety in these parts.

My friend Greg came over last night to try and connect my borrowed computer to the internet, but no luck (something about a missing network driver? I dunno ... I don't speak computer). But while he was there, I fed him a bowl of gumbo, and he gave it a thumbs up. He's picky, so his approval is a good thing.

No soup or stew is complete without bread. So I baked a loaf of Whole Wheat Beer Bread for gumbo-dippin':

This recipe will also be going into the book. But it's so simple that I'll share you all now.

Whole Wheat Beer Bread
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3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. evaporated cane juice (or white sugar if you please)
1 tsp. sea salt
12 ounces of tasty vegan beer (I used New Belgium black English ale, but PBR will work too!)
1 Tbsp. soy margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. Add beer. Stir to combine. Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes, and then brush margarine over the top. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.