Dinner with Jeffrey #1

I have an awesome, amazing friend named Jeffrey. We have been friends for years and we enjoy cooking together. Jeffrey won my heart over with the best carrot cake I HAVE EVA TASTED! (in my best Southern drawl). Jeffrey and I made up some green gumbo which we determined was "quite possibly the best soup ever made". Make a Roux: 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/3 cup flour. Brown and stir frequently/ constantly. After about 20 minutes, the roux will turn a deep reddish brown. Be careful! It burns easily. While making the roux, have 4 cups of water boiling and salted. Add a bunch (prewashed, de-stemmed and roughly chopped) kale or other greens. We also used a bunch of watercress. Boil for about 10 minutes. Drain over a colander and save 2 cups of the juice for the gumbo. In a saucepan, over medium heat- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 chopped onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 whole chopped up peppers (green, red, yellow, orange in any combination), 3 stalks celery chopped. Let this mixture get translucent. Add 1 cup broccoli, 3 carrots, a couple of new potatoes and a bunch of parsley finely chopped. (Remember that a recipe is a guide, so add other vegetables as you like). Add salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, rosemary, oregano, thyme, marjoram, 2 bay leaves, red (cayenne) and white pepper. If you have fresh herbs available, use them. If not, dried herbs work just fine. Check the refrigerated section of your grocery store for fresh herbs if you prefer. Let this cook over medium heat, stirring often so veggies soften for about 10 minutes. Add the roux when it's done. I made them both at the same time. Prechop and sit your veggies aside before you begin, so you can just drop them in. Remember- Don't burn the roux! Add the kale/ greens mixture, 1 carton of vegetarian stock and a can of fire roasted tomatoes. I use Pacific foods vegetarian no chicken stock . Add the reserved liquid (from the kale/ greens) and stir. Add water as needed to thin. Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer stirring frequently for about an hour. Serve over rice of any color, quinoa, spaghetti squash or orzo. Top with file powder if you want or other cajun seasoning. Crusty bread goes great with this gumbo stew. Happy Eating!