Vegetables

[nfotxn]

Picked up an extra shift today. Made Cajun catfish with Rapini and, um, toast for dinner. Working in a grocery store and knowing what produce is on sale rules. Bought some Okra as well. I dunno what it's good for particularly but I will soon find out.

For the record I grew up with a granola mom and love my fruits and vegetables. I didn't know what candy was until I was about 6 or 7, the story goes. Mom had my brother and I convinced that oatmeal cookies (the unperverted type) and carrot sticks were as good as it gets. Nice tasty crispy fresh produce, mmm you cannot go wrong. I really do pity the fruit and vegetable impaired.

Comments

Okra

[scottybear.livejournal.com]

You might want to check out recipes for Fried Okra or recipes for Gumbo. Okra is very popular in cooking of the southern US (i.e. Cajun). If cooked right it is really very tasty, but cooked wrong it can go sort of gummy and gelatinous.

*hugs* Good luck.

[slothel.livejournal.com]

You throw it away immediately, that's what you do with okra.

MY GOLLY GOSH...

[darkphuque.livejournal.com]

What a *giggle* narrow mind....

Re: MY GOLLY GOSH...

[slothel.livejournal.com]

Heh. Maybe I just haven't had it prepared right. Deep fried was MUCH better than boiled, that's for sure.

But then, what isn't better deep fried?

EEEE GAD!!!

[darkphuque.livejournal.com]

Boiled okra is enough to make me ralf.....
I am not even fond of it in Gumbo, but it isn't real "gumbo" without it; and I really like Gumbo. OTOH, stewed okra, fried okra, even braised okra is wonderful. The secret is not to cut it...

Most boiled veggies are terrible.

Re: EEEE GAD!!!

[slothel.livejournal.com]

Yes they are. And the only okra I've had (other than the deep fried stuff) was sliced, and it was ohmygod slimy.

Growing up, though, all vegetables were what my brother and I called "boiled into submission". They were the first thing to go on the stove, and they boiled until everything else was done. They were all gray and devoid of any nutritional value.

When I was 18 and living away from home for the first time, properly steamed broccoli was quite a revelation!

OKRA

[darkphuque.livejournal.com]

is delicious. We stew it with tomatoes, onions and garlic. The secret is to use YOUNG okra, and not to cut it. I trim the stem end, but not enough to open the pod. Okra is viscus, and can appear slimy if cut.

Fried okra is delicious if the okra is dipped in seasoned flour, egg wash and then cornmeal. Deep fry it and serve with a wedge of lemon... YUM!!!

[abearius.livejournal.com]

Take a small onion and a clove of garlic. Chop them up. Trim the stems from a pound of okra. Get a potato a little bigger than your fist and cut it into medium chunks. Chop a tomato of roughly the same size into chunks.

Sautee the onion and garlic for a few minutes in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. (You can actually use more if you are not on a slimming regimen.) Add all the other ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste, and a little oregano if you like it.

Turn the heat up. When it begins to sizzle/bubble, reduce the heat to medium and cover tightly. Shake it around (do not uncover as this lets steam escape) every now and then, but just let it cook for ab out half an hour until the tomato is disintegrated, and the okra and potatoes are tender.

Goes well with whiskey.
Great with bread or rice, too.

This is a Greek cooking technique called ladero. You can do this with any fairly crunchy vegetable that is not broccoli.

Hmmmm... interesting.

[darkphuque.livejournal.com]

While the recipe sounds delicious, I grew up in a greek speaking household and speak the language myself yet, I have never heard of this word.

I cannot find it in my Contemporary Greek Lexicon. I googled it, and came up will all sorts of spanish definitions. I called my mother's sister and neither she, not her husband (who was raised in Greece) had ever heard of it. I have 3 families whose wives were born in Greece in my parish and they had never heard of it. Could you give me your reference? I sure am curious....

Re: Hmmmm... interesting.

[abearius.livejournal.com]

I learned this technique (and the word) from a Greek exchange student from Athens. I suppose I just assumed that ladero was Greek because she was! So what do y'all call it?

Re: Hmmmm... interesting.

[darkphuque.livejournal.com]

I have checked all my Greek Cookbooks (14... a few basics and a lot of regional ones) and don't find any specific procedure defined as you have. There are several similar recipes that are referred to a "stewed".
I don't know. In Greek cooking there are a lot of words that aren't "Greek" but come from either Turkish, Venetian or British words... perhaps this is where your word came from. maybe its just foreign in origin,
No matter... its a wonderful way to prepare okra, eggplant, zuchini, cauliflower... etc.

[poodler.livejournal.com]

As the second to last in a family of five with a mother who shopped only on Fridays, I grew up eating the carrots and produce which my siblings wouldn't touch. I'm in better shape for it although I do resemble a green bean.

Vegetables

[(Anonymous)]

Okra is good fried, in soup or in gumbo..
I'm from Louisiana in the US and we use it in those ways..