This Trip Log is called "Gidley Gumbo" and will be the very FIRST Trip Log where Robert goes someplace that Laura doesn't. As a result, he'll be writing his very own Trip Logs and you'll find out just how much junk Laura cuts out of them before you see them. (Be grateful you never saw the three page rambling dissertation about seagulls and ice cream.)
Here's the set-up: the Diocese of Olympia (Franchise Headquarters for Episcopalians in Western Washington) is putting together a trip to New Orleans where we will help do what our government should have done a couple of years ago (that is, rebuild some of the houses destroyed by various hurricanes).
Apparently, we'll mostly be doing interior work, as most of the exteriors have either been fixed or torn down. It's a group of 17 people from different churches in the Seattle area (plus one person from Eugene, Oregon).
When Robert signed up for the trip, they were asking around for somebody to do the cooking. Robert took stock of his hammering skills compared to his cooking skills and volunteered to be the cook.
Now, we've been to New Orleans before (back in 2002) and we had an unbroken string of absolutely fabulous meals. As nearly as we can tell, you cannot have a bad meal in New Orleans. We ate gumbo and jambalaya and had bread pudding at the Commander's Palace and had kick-ass Shrimp Etouffee at a bowling alley.
So the idea that a bunch of people from Seattle would go to New Orleans and NOT eat out every night bugged Robert. A lot. So he decided that if the people couldn't go out, he'd bring some New Orleans cooking to the people. He's been practicing some recipes and has planned out three classic local meals. (Some of the nights we're heading to local soup kitchens).
Will his carefully laid plans work out? Or will the Seattle contingent go on strike and insist on having salmon burgers and clam chowder?
Stay tuned...