Magic skillet roux

So today's story begins when it was Monday, we had grocery shopping to do, and only $30 left in our budget for the week (the week ends on Saturday night - that's when we get "allowance"- and we started this week in the hole already due to a fundraiser the night before). 

So, two people for six days on $30 is challenging but not impossible, especially since we already had some stores in place. But we had to be careful and stick to a plan. I got a ham - again with the ham! - and we were looking around for vegetables when we found andouille in the freezer section! OH MY! Old friend! We never thought we'd see you on Guam! And okra and celery were on sale! And since we already had onions and peppers at home (thanks mom!), we were all set for gumbo. 

But gumbo is time-consuming, and we are both BUSY! According to the plan, yesterday was supposed to be gumbo night, but it was already 5:00 and I wasn't done studying. Despair, frustration, we're going to starve, let's just eat out, that's not in our budget, what am I going to do? 

Improvise! 

The trouble with gumbo is that the roux takes forever and you can't do anything else while you make it, because you have to stir it constantly to keep it from burning - unless you make it in the microwave (thanks Mrs. Gipson!) - but we don't have a microwave. 

What we do have is a large, heavy-bottomed non-stick skillet (thanks again, mom!). 

Well, roux burns when it sticks to the bottom of the pot - that's why you have to stir it. But if it's a non-stick surface...? 

I'll tell you something: it worked. I put the flour and oil in the nonstick pan, turned on the heat and let it do its thing while I chopped the vegetables. I'd give it a good stir every time I finished with a vegetable, but it didn't come close to burning. I kept the heat on the low side of medium (as near as I could tell, with our execrable stove) and in no time at all, I had a beautiful mahogany-colored roux. It was so fast, and so easy. 

I think that using the frying pan speeds up the process because there is more surface area to heat the roux. And it definitely didn't burn.

So, I'm sharing this secret for any friends out there who find themselves one day in need of gumbo, with insufficient hands to stir the roux and chop the vegetables at the same time, and insufficient time to do them separately. 

It works! 

(Of course, we still didn't eat until 8:30 or 9... but we stuck to the plan and stayed within budget. That's the point! And now we've got gumbo for, hmm, probably five more meals. Life is good when dinner is already cooked!).