ROUSES_Fall2022_Magazine-low-res

TEAM ROUX

I love a thin gumbo, and for extra zing, I always add a capful of white vinegar directly into my bowl. I inherited the habit from my father, who always “just adds a little somethin’ different” to nearly every home-cooked meal (one example being ketchup in mac & cheese – don’t knock it ’til you try it). Not only am I #TeamRoux, but I’m also #TeamRicelessGumbo. Given that I’ve lived south of I-10 my whole life, you’d think rice would be ingrained (pun definitely intended) in my DNA – but I protest. Sure, cutting the rice slashes the carbs, but it also allows me to quite literally eat double the amount of gumbo. And that is something I really love to do! – Kacie Galtier, Designer & Illustrator

Like gumbo, pho has no particular eating weather or season. And despite its hot broth and savory fixings, pho is eaten throughout the year, at any time of day. Every time I visited my Maw Maw’s house as a child, there would be a warm, delicious pot of beef and chicken pho for our family, with a hot pot of rice made especially for me. And just as it is with gumbo, everyone makes their pho a little differently. People are particular about the choice of protein and toppings for their pho, which resembles the debate between chicken or seafood gumbo. In New Orleans, it’s all about what you grew up with, and hot soup on a summer day just feels like home to me. – Peyton Finch, Design Intern Gumbo is a year-round favorite in my family. It really doesn’t matter what’s happening with the weather: We are currently under a heat advisory, and I just had seafood gumbo. We like to use Autin’s Gumbo Mix — it’s my mother-in-law’s recipe and, believe it or not, she doesn’t use a roux. You really can’t taste the difference though, and we love it. My husband makes it the best. When he cooks his gumbo, my son likes to watch and pretend cook along with him in his play kitchen. – Harley Breaux, Marketing Coordinator

My pawpaw always said Mamie would put a big pot at the end of the table and, every night, the leftovers and table scraps went into the pot. On Sunday she’d make a gumbo. – Stephanie Hopkins, Senior Graphic Designer

Heat index over 112 degrees — ask my husband to cook a gumbo. Anyone else? – Taryn Clement, E-commerce Manager

I don’t put okra in my gumbo, which absolutely horrified my mother-in-law, who was a pure Cajun from Pierre Part; s he barely spoke English. She said, “Mais, if you don’t put gumbo in da gumbo dat’s not a gumbo!” (Gumbo is the African and Cajun word for okra.) – Nancy Besson, Graphic Designer

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