Rainy Day Gumbo

     Today I drove Brian to work since he turned in his rented 2010 Subaru Outback last night because his car would be ready for pick up today.  As we left for the drive to his office the rain was coming down softly.  It felt  like one of the cozy days that you feel like not going to work and preparing some type of comfort food.  Guess what, I didn't have to go to work and as I drove down Roswell Rd. to Buckhead "gumbo" filled my thoughts.  Gumbo was in the forcast as much as the all day rain was in the Atlanta weather's forcast.
     As I was driving to the grocery store thinking of what I needed to make my gumbo, I recalled years ago living in the French Quarter across the street from my good friend Bonnie.  She was my first introduction into cooking and showed me how to make gravy.  Her philosophy was " if you can make gravy, you can make a meal."  How true.  I was so excited when she taught me how to make gravy steak.  It was so easy. 
     One night she invited me over for some of her homemade gumbo and a little lesson on making a roux.  Normally a roux conjures up a tedious task of labor and fear of burning it, not with Bonnie.  Her style of making a roux is best compared to that of an artist.   Her canvas is the heated pot, her paints are the oil and flour which she meticulously blends together until the masterpiece is created. 
     She never stands laboring over the stove but rather pulls up a bar stool with a glass of chilled chardonnay within reach and sips and stirs until the perfect dark, dark, brown color of the "painting" is achieved.  The gumbo's flavor is all about the darkness of the roux.  I still have not been brave enough to get to that dark chocolate color for fear of burning it and having to begin the process all over but I inch a bit closer with every new pot I make.