Gumbo is a soup. As there is no one soup recipe, there is no one gumbo recipe.

Though all gumbos tend to have some of the same ingredients, gumbo has regional and personal styles all over Louisiana. Availability of ingredients also directs how it's made, and what all might go into it.

Usually summer gumbos can have a thin soup, while winter gumbos could have a thicker soup.

Slice fresh okra into half inch to inch thick slices. Make them one layer deep in a greased pie pan, on on a wire rack or other kind of greased flat pan. Bake on the lowest temperature of the oven. Drying the okra takes 3 to 4 hours. If you have dehydrated or freeze dried okra, or 'okra chips' use those instead of drying fresh okra. Drying okra removes the viscous okra juice from cooking out in the gumbo.

I use frozen, peeled, deveined, tail less shrimp. Use as much shrimp as you want, I use about 1 1/2 cups for this gumbo. Fresh caught shrimp tastes the best.

It has about 1/2 cup of red or green bell peppers chopped, or a mix of the two. And about 1/2 cup chopped celery. Then 1/2 cup diced onion. Adjust the amounts of each veggie to your liking.

Not every gumbo has Andouille Sausage in it, but I like that flavor in gumbo. For this, I want the shrimp to be king, so I use half a link or less of andouille. Smoked sausage can be substituted for andouille.

If you want to use just water as a soup base, of course you can. But stock brings the flavors to life.

Using 1 to 4 tablespoons of store bought pre-cooked roux is the quickest method of making the characteristic gumbo soup base. Making a dark, copper penny colored roux is time consuming, and can scorch quickly if inexperienced cooking it. Use a pre cooked roux to avoid problems. Many grocery stores sell it. Roux thickens the soup, and adds that classic gumbo flavor, color and aroma. Use more roux if you want a richer, darker gumbo, use less if you need a lighter soup base.

Spices and herbs can be what you have on hand. It can include any of the following: kosher or sea salt; black pepper; white pepper; paprika; garlic powder; thyme; a little sage; a bay leaf; parsley; margoram and file' gumbo powder added before serving. Sometimes I add a little cayenne, but not every time.

I don't use all of the above spices and herbs every single time. But any typical gumbo can include part of that list.

Do not boil file' gumbo powder, as it makes the soup as viscous as boiled okra would. Our folks also used file' gumbo powder as a table seasoning along with salt and pepper and a small bottle of picked peppers. Just sprinkle some over the steaming hot rice in your bowl, then ladle hot gumbo over that and eat. The flavors and aroma are amazing that way.

This doesn't need cayenne whatsoever. That's a personal choice.

Melt some dairy butter in a small skillet and toss in a teaspoon of garlic powder and fresh parsley, don't brown it, just melt the butter with the rest. Toss in the raw shrimp and stir till all are coated in the warmed garlic butter sauce. Put that in the fridge for now, it's a warm marinade, not meant to cook the shrimp yet.

In a deep, heavy bottomed pot, warm up 1 tablespoon of bottled roux with 2 teaspoons of oil, just to help loosen it up. Once it's less a paste, and more a sauce, toss in the diced onions, celery and bell peppers. Mix that around until the veggies become glossy and fragrant.

Now toss in the shrimp, and let that sizzle in the roux and veggies. Add all the spices and herbs, and pour in about three to four cups of broth or water. It really doesn't matter what sort of broth; whether veggie or meat broth, seafood broth, or plain water, it all makes a good gumbo.

Bring this to a low boil, add the dried okra and simmer covered until the okra is rehydrated and tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Reduce heat and set off of the burner until it stops boiling.

Then add a teaspoon or two of file' gumbo powder and stir in well. Serve it up steamy hot over freshly cooked white rice.

We usually served this with cooked white rice spooned in each bowl, a little file' gumbo powder sprinkled over the rice, then ladle the hot shrimp gumbo over that. Let it soak in while tea is being poured, and people get situated at the table and then say grace.

Serve with some form of bread. Yeast rolls, cornbread, biscuits, or slices of what my family called "light bread" (sliced white sandwich bread).

Many old recipes list putting 1 uncooked egg (in the shell), per person in the gumbo to cook along with the rest of the ingredients. It provides one gumbo-boiled egg with their serving of gumbo. And a nice way to use up eggs if the hens have been generous. Other recipes use sliced tasso, or red "new potatoes" in the gumbo.

If you want a Creole twist, then add a can of Rotel tomatoes. Or simply add a chopped tomato to the gumbo.

It's all about time spent with family and friends, and making sure they eat well. Good food shared with good folks. That's what it's all about.

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"File'" is pronounced "fee-lay" or "fee-LAY" or "FEE-lay". File gumbo powder is powdered, dried sassafras leaves.