Louisiana Style Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients for seafood stock:
5 quarts water
2 doz. boiled crabs
3 lbs. raw shrimp, heads and shells on
1 carrot
1 onion, quartered
1/2 cup celery, coarsely chopped
Fill 6-quart stockpot with 5 quarts of water. Pull off back shells of
crabs and
add shells to stockpot. Discard inedible spongy fingers, break crabs in
half and
set aside. Peel shrimp and add heads and shells to pot. Set shrimp aside. To
stockpot add carrot, onion, celery and cover, simmering for 2 hours. Strain
stock and return to pot.

3 cups onions, chopped
1-1/2 cups celery, finely chopped
1 cup green pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 lbs. okra, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 cup + 1 tbsp. cooking oil
2 tbsp. flour
1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes
1/2 cup ham or sausage, diced
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. basil
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco sauce to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Rice
In a separate pan or deep skillet, make a roux with oil and flour. Cook over
medium low heat until golden brown. Add vegetables and sauté over low heat
until softened, then add tomatoes, ham or sausage and seasonings and
continue
cooking 10 minutes. Add to stockpot along with shrimp and crabs which
were set aside. Bring to a simmer and cook slowly for 1 hour. Serve over
rice.