MORAN — Mike McEwan’s family has a rule.
If you’re hungry, and it’s dinner time, go ahead and cook.
“My parents were pretty good about teaching us how to take care of ourselves,” said McEwan, 47. “That included cooking.”
It’s a practice he and wife Kathy have passed on to their children, so much so that their son, Robert, is studying food science at Kansas State University.
McEwan, social sciences instructor at Marmaton Valley High School, spoke with the Register about his family’s love of cooking and his for Cajun food.
AS THE youngest of five children, McEwan grew up in the Colorado Springs area with an affinity for the kitchen.
That worked well for the busy family. The rule then was that whoever had idle time was assigned the role of chef.
“It wasn’t like I was cooking for everybody,” McEwan noted. “By the time I got older, I only had one sister still living at home.”
It was perhaps only fitting that while attending Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., that McEwan met Kathy Swepston, who would later become his wife. Kathy, it should be noted, also knows a thing or two about cooking. She’s a nutritionist and family and consumer sciences agent for the Kansas State University Extension Agency.
After college, the McEwans moved to Poplar Bluff, Mo., where Mike began his coaching and teaching career. As fate would have it, an assistant football coach there grew up in Louisiana and taught McEwan the ins and outs of Cajun food preparation.
The McEwans knew eventually they’d want to return closer to home. Kathy is originally from Inman, so moving west from Poplar Bluff was inevitable.
Mike got a teaching and coaching job at Marmaton Valley in the summer of 1993.
“Poplar Bluff was a 5A school in Missouri, and I figured I would start at a small school and use it as a stepping stone to bigger and bigger schools,” McEwan recalled. “I drew a line at Wichita. If we ever went west of there, we were going all the way back to Colorado Springs.”
But something about Marmaton Valley fit in well with the McEwans, who by then had two children.
“We never found a reason to want to leave,” he said. “We love it here.”
Because of Kath’s busy work schedule with the Southwind Extension District office in Iola, Mike will frequently prepare dinner for the family.
Their daughter, Molly, a junior at Marmaton Valley, will do the same if she’s hungry, Mike said.
And when spring and summer arrive, much of McEwan’s cooking will be done outdoors.
“I love grilling,” he confessed.
AN ADMITTED experimenter in the kitchen, McEwan joked that recipes for his meals are works in progress.
“There may be something different in it every time,” he said.
He’ll occasionally look for new recipes on the Internet. With Robert now a sophomore at KSU, McEwan often receives different tips from his son about different foods as well.
“He experiments like me,” McEwan said. “He’ll send me pictures of stuff he’s made. He’s getting pretty good at it. Molly likes to bake more, so she may whip something up in the oven.”
McEwan also laughs when reminded that his wife is a nutritionist.
“I’m not worried about my food’s nutrition,” he joked. “I value my food’s flavor, not nutrition.”
From the Kitchen of Mike McEwan
Gumbo
Start with the roux. Roux is the basis for many Cajun dishes, and is flour and oil mixed in equal proportions and cooked in an iron skillet until browned. You must constantly stir the roux as it cooks because it will burn easily. The darker the roux the richer the flavor of the dish (shoot for the color of chocolate). A good, dark roux will take 30-45 minutes on a medium heat. Be careful not to burn it or your gumbo will be bitter. For a large pot of gumbo, I mix 3⁄4 cup of oil and 1 cup of flour.
Ingredients
— Chicken, (you can get a whole chicken cut up or skinned chicken breasts) cut up
— 11⁄2 pounds Andouille sausage, you can use smoked sausage if you cannot find Andouille
— 2 onions
— 5 celery stalks
— 2 large bell peppers
— 1 bunch green onions
— 2 garlic cloves
— Creole seasoning, I use Tony Chachere’s
— Red pepper
— Chicken stock, 4 quarts
— Hot sauce to taste
— File’, powdered or powdered sassafras leaves used to flavor and thicken soup or gumbo
Mix the chicken stock with 4 quarts of water in a large pot and begin to heat.
Cut up onions, celery, garlic and bell pepper. Sauté the sausage in a pan, remove and sauté the vegetables in some of the oil (or you can add them to the roux when it is done and still hot and sauté them that way). Add the vegetables and roux to the stock and bring to a slow boil. Reduce to a simmer and add seasonings to taste. Let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. The thickness will depend on you. If you prefer soup-like, add more water.
Add chicken and Andouille, cook until chicken is done. (You can also add shrimp, but do not put in until the last 10 minutes)
Pour over cooked rice, sprinkle with file’.
Jambalaya
— 1 pound boneless chicken
— 1 pound Andouille sausage, can use smoked sausage
— 1 large onion
— 1 large bell pepper
— 5 stalks celery
— 3 cloves garlic
— 1 can diced tomatoes
— 8 cups chicken stock
— 3 small cans tomato paste
— 4 cups rice
— Creole seasoning to taste
— Salt to taste
Cut up onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic.
In a pan brown the chicken sprinkled with Creole seasoning, salt and pepper.
In a large pot brown the Andouille sausage, remove and spoon off the fat. Sauté the vegetables until the onions start to become clear. Add tomato paste and cook on medium heat until it starts to turn brown in color. What you are doing is caramelizing the sugars to deepen the flavor. Add 2 cups of the stock and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add tomatoes and seasonings and cook for 15 minutes. Add meat and cook for another 10 minutes.
Add the rest of the stock and check seasonings. Add rice, stir well, cover and let simmer 20-25 minutes or until rice is done. Remove lid and let simmer to thicken (if needed) for about 10 minutes.
