FILL UP YOUR TANK (Sunday Recipe)

Memorial Day weekend and I'm thinking about my dad. He was a WWII vet and a career Air Force officer. He was in high school when the war started, but his dad was a career Army officer, so Daddy enlisted when he was old enough. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. He enlisted in the new Air Force after the war and became a pilot and a 20-year man. This photo was taken on Guam in the mid-50's. I'm the oldest of three second-generation military brats. Our parents are buried at Arlington.

Yesterday I took Daddy's medals and two photos to a frame shop to have a shadow box made. My brother has the original medals, but my take-charge daughter wrote to some office at the Pentagon requesting Daddy's records in my behalf (I'd been promising to do it for years) and not only did I get ALL of his service records in the mail but also a full set of duplicate medals. So last night I watched "Saving Private Ryan" and bawled.

I was thinking that recipes might be a good Sunday feature, and since Daddy--who was born in Baton Rouge--was a wonderful cook (as is my chip-off-the-old-block brother) here's one of his best for you:

Sid's Shrimp Creole

2 c. cooked shrimp
1 c. sliced or diced onion
1 c. diced celery
1 c. diced green pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 c. olive oil or bacon drippings
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. flour and 1/2 c. water blended (shake in a jar)
2 1/2 c.(1 #2 can) tomatoes, broken up
1 tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. file (or 1 tsp. thyme)

1. Prepare and cook shrimp. Set aside.
2. In large skillet saute onions, celery, green pepper and garlic until tender.
3. Add salt, sugar, chili powder, file and flour/water blend.
4. Simmer (low heat) 15 min.
5. Add tomatoes, vinegar and shrimp to skillet and heat thoroughly.
6. Serve with rice and Tabasco sauce.

We'd love to see your recipes in the commentary! Anybody have a great gumbo?