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Some Like It Hot!

bgibson135

I like the Sanderson Farms chicken livers and gizzards. I’m not sure if I have ever bought them from anywhere else but Carlie “C” IGA. The Wayne Sanderson Farms headquarters is located in Oakwood, Georgia, but it has regional processing plants in various states and there is one north of Lumberton, in St. Pauls, North Carolina.

I had to cook them, because if I leave them in the refrigerator past a few days they may start to smell, or I imagine they start to smell and I throw them out just in case. *I guess chicken livers and gizzards fit in the same category, for me, as avocados and English cucumbers. They are all relatively cheap, and I treat them as such, ignoring them often until they have reached the point of rot and I throw them away. No telling how much money has been wasted on these items in my life time. Can you imagine someone walking along pulling out $2.50 and just throwing it in the trash without thinking every so often? Well, in essence, that’s what I do with these.

Avocados are difficult to buy. If you wait until the day you want or need one, then all the stores have “rock hard” unripe avocados. Or you can be in a store and reach for an avocado to find it is extremely “smushy” and you know it is either already brown on the inside or will be by tomorrow. I don’t buy smushy, and often don’t buy rock hard in the hopes that in several days I will have a need of it. Elsewhere I’ve written about the analogy of having an avocado cemetery much like Arlington in Washington, DC.

Carly “C”s doesn’t always carry the Sanderson Farms brand, but I saw some a few days ago and bought a package of gizzards. My mind kept coming back to, “I’ve got to cook these before they spoil,” so I pulled them out yesterday, tore open the package and cut them all into smaller chunks.

Originally I was just going to boil the gizzards and the onions, no rice (although that is a delicious combo, but the rice is bad for my blood sugar levels). But then I started to add other things and I had things that I had bought, but never used in any recipe before. And, because I had half an avocado, I even scooped the flesh out and added it to the broth. Now that was a bold move. Avocado with chicken gizzards? I was surprised that the avocado did not break down completely. And later, I realized it had been a brilliant move. The soothing cooling fattiness of the avocado, floating in this murky greenish peppery, spicy hot stew was a perfect choice.

“THE MURK”

I must have been in a green mood because I added three odd ingredients two of which had a Hispanic influence and one that had a Thai leaning. The cilantro paste and the basil paste had a dark green tint, and the black pepper sauce was a murky dark brown.

  • chicken livers, (can be left out for a veggie soup)
  • Polska Beef Kielbasa (another alternative meat)
  • onion,
  • chicken broth,
  • lentils,
  • avocado, (absolutely necessary),
  • bay leaf,
  • cilantro leaves (chopped – optional),
  • basil paste,
  • cilantro paste,
  • black pepper sauce,
  • jalapeno,
  • okra, diced (optional, but good flavor),
  • chickpeas (optional, but I think would look neat floating the the dark green murk).
  • cumin (ground),
  • garlic (powder),
  • fenugreek seed,
  • turmeric (ground – optional),
  • cayenne (ground – optional),
  • bacon fat (not necessary, but good flavor),
  • avocado oil (optional).
  • S&P
homemade broth in freezer

Yeah, this turned out really well. A pleasing, spicy, peppery hot, savory lentil soup with chunks of chicken gizzards floating amongst the dollops of avocado. I didn’t add too many lentils as I often do, which kept this soup brothy, but I did add both red and brown lentils. I don’t have a problem with adding red, brown, green or black lentils in a mix because I always cook them until they are all tender, and it doesn’t matter to me that some may have “broken down” by the time the rest are fully cooked. Lentils have an “earthy” flavor. *I probably could have even added carrots or used cannellini beans instead of the lentils in this gizzard stew. The white beans would have looked neat floating in the murky dark green liquid.

I visualized the white beans in the green liquid not as cannellini beans, but as a dish I made several years ago using “Lady Cream Peas” and mixing them in with green split peas. The green split peas broke down into a bright green broth, but the Lady Cream Peas stayed whole, and each whitish bean was floating in a sea of bright green.

[06/21/25]: I just made this again and it is delicious. I am going to call it “the Murk.” This time I left out the chicken gizzards, but I did put in a couple of small tomatoes, diced. I also added some diced okra, but did not think to add the garbanzo beans. I think they would look and taste good in the murky green broth. Also, I think chopped cilantro leaves would look and taste good in this. I’m already using the cilantro paste, so we know the flavors work.

I don’t see how this can’t be “diabetic friendly” even with some bacon grease.

Why do I think that the avocado is absolutely necessary? Well, the cool, creamy, fat of an avocado contrasts well with the spicy (peppery) hottness. I’ve made the simple “Chicken, Chipotle, Avocado” Soup for several years and I was always interested in how the avocado went so well with the hot chipotle peppers.