DINE IN DINE OUT: The Galloways brought in the New Year in style - recipe included

*Suzie met Sylvia at Clark as she was delivering some of her homemade dishes to an employee. Suzie was fascinated by Sylvia’s generosity, as the dishes were made for the employee’s specific diet. One foodie to another led to Sylvia offering her story and family tradition. Happy New Year from the Dunnery

I grew up on a farm in Illinois and moved west when I was in my early 20s. Holidays, special occasions, and Sundays always centered around good, homemade from scratch food. I come from a long line of cooks. Cooking is something I enjoy, especially sharing the things I make. I met my husband at Slide Rock in 1979 and the rest is history. We married later that same year and eventually built a home in the Village of Oak Creek and have enjoyed it ever since. Oh, those were the days. Jacks Canyon Road was gravel, and the only store was Circle K. Our lot was essentially an open range cow pasture, and the Avon lady rode up on a horse! I love that memory. We still love our home and the VOC.

I am a nurse and worked many years at Verde Valley Medical Center on the Telemetry unit. This was back when Dr. Peek was there, and we all thought he “walked on water” LOL. I still do! I eventually, left the clinical side to become a university professor for the Northern Arizona University School of Nursing. I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees there, so I am happy to be giving back now. When I am not at school, or cooking, I am riding my horse, Red. I love to trail ride with my best friend Barney and see beautiful scenery and wildlife. I also love to garden and spend time outdoors hiking or walking my dog. My husband operated Sedona Painting, established in 1983, but he is retired since then.

My personal diet is vegetarian, well I am technically a lacto-ovo pescatarian, which means I eat eggs, dairy and fish. My husband is a meat eater so I sometimes cook meat, but mostly he will cook it on the grill. It’s just not my preference. Our favorite holiday is Christmas Eve, and that is when we make our tradition seafood gumbo with a recipe passed down from my husband’s New Orleans based family. Since the gumbo is so rich, we don’t make a lot of sides. The gumbo is served with crusty French bread and a salad that my mother made. Dessert is generally bread pudding.

Seafood Gumbo

Serves 8-10 ( No need to be specific on measurement)

Make a roux of ½ C. Bacon Grease with ½ C. flour

Add and cook until tender

6 oz. can Tomato Paste

15 oz. can chopped tomatoes

½ C. chopped celery

1 C. chopped onion

1 chopped green pepper

Add and slowly heat to 160 degrees. Seafood will cook as mixture is heated.

4 C. Chicken Broth

2 Bay Leaves

3-4 cloves minced Garlic

½ tsp File Powder (dried sassafras leaves and roots)

1 tsp. Tabasco Sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

12 oz. pkg. frozen Okra

4-6 8 oz jars of Oysters with liquid

1 # shelled, deveined Shrimp

2 King Crab Legs or meat from a Lobster Tail

Serve over Rice. Bon Appetit!