1 whole chicken
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 tablespoons butter
32 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
14 ounce package frozen okra, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1-1/2 cups long grain rice
6 cups chicken broth (water from chicken)
1 bay leaf
salt and cayenne pepper

1. Place chicken in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover until chicken is cooked and can easily be removed from the bones.
2. Remove the chicken and refrigerate the broth. Debone the chicken and shred the meat. Skim off fat from the broth.
3. In a large soup pot, add the butter and sauté the onions and celery until tender.
4. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, parsley and bay leaf. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
5. Cook the rice in the soup pot until tender, about 20 minutes, then add the cooked chicken and okra.
6. Stir until the broth thickens, remove the bay leaf and adjust seasoning as necessary. Spoon into bowls to serve.

Makes 8 servings

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, honey and oil.
4. Slowly combine the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just blended.
5. Pour batter into greased muffin tins and bake until golden brown and a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove muffins and cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins

In the spirit of the Southern cuisine I've been making lately, I decided to give Chicken Gumbo a go. I was a lot more excited about this until read that okra is what actually thickens gumbo and that I wouldn't be able to substitute it for anything. The idea that okra's slime would bind all of my ingredients together was admittedly a huge turn off.

The making of was quite time consuming, since I boiled an entire chicken and cooled and skimmed the broth. The gumbo itself didn't really thicken nearly as much as I thought it would, even after cutting back on the original amount of liquid that the recipe called for. I didn't hold back on the okra either, and was quite disappointed in its lack of thickening ability. To its credit, it did make a substantial difference, from soup like texture to a sort of pleasant sludge. Were I to repeat this again, I'd definitely add more rice (which I'm accounting for in the recipe). The flavor was a little wimpy until I added a few chicken bouillon cubes and extra pepper, but I'm definitely far from ever being a gumbo making pro.

The liquidy broth made good work on my Cornbread Muffins though, which turned out nothing like I remember cornbread tasting like whatsoever. I'm assuming this was fully my fault, because they tasted sort of like a biscuit, except with a gritty texture from the cornmeal. As long as they were soaked in broth it didn't really matter, but they were not particularly edible by themselves.

Shannon had some friends over and they left some Potato Salad and Baked Beans from a chicken combo dinner in the fridge. Not wanting it to go to waste (and being fond of potato salad and baked beans) I added those to my plate as well. Unfortunately, there wasn't any pecan pie laying around for dessert.