Okra vs Mallomars

   Okra. Yes, that's what's on that plate up there, like it or not. Love it or leave it. Okra. I just can't quit ya. Sometimes Alan wishes I could. Okra has become my dirty little secret, my Mallomars under the sink if you will. What do I mean by that? I'm getting to it.
   I grew up in a household where there weren't a lot of candies and sweet stuff allowed. Part of this was because I was a "metal mouth" and nothing is worse for a mouth full of very expensive braces than a great big 50 cent bar of Bonomo's Turkish Taffy... mmmm Bonomo's. It's back by the way, in case you hadn't heard. Yes, they are making Bonomo's again.

   Good news Ma. I can now wreck my teeth again! We weren't allowed soda either, so I never developed a Coke habit, (yeah that's a cheap shot) or a 7Up habit, or actually any sort of taste for sugary soft drinks. My mom and dad have always been into healthy eating. Except for one teensy weensy little habit. My mom's Mallowmar stash. It seems she kept a bag of Mallomar cookies under the sink , next to the cleanser and the mousetraps.

   I found them one evening. "What are these?" I asked.
   "They're for grown-ups (sure). You wouldn't like them. And put them back right now."
   I'd found my mothers' weakness. The Mallomars under the sink. Okra then is my Mallomars under the sink, except for the "you wouldn't like them part" which happens to be sadly true in most cases.

   In doing Mallomar experiments in my home laboratory with my professional lab-rat/photographer Alan, I've made a few discoveries. First, when it comes to Okra, crispy can cover a multitude of sins. There is nothing people hate more than slimy. That is when it comes to vegetables. Slimy in movie villians... Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman, take a bow. Slimy okra however... no Oscars handed out there. So crispy, big plus.

   The next thing one needs in dealing with this tricky vegetable is spice. Pop things up. Okra on it's own is very plain Jane. Okra is not a loud vegetable. Spices are very welcome. Finally, one more thing, and this is the secret ingredient... peanuts and coconut. This comes from the Bacon Makes Everything Better school of thought. If one puts bacon or peanuts or coconut on anything it makes that anything absolutely deeeeeeelicious! That is exactly what I did in the latest okra dish I made. I added spice, I crisped it and added peanuts and coconut.

Okra With Peanuts and Coconut

Here's what to do:
Wash, clean and dry 1 lb of fresh okra.

Slice the Okra into 1/2 inch thick pieces.

In a heavy skillet or kadhai, heat 3 Tbs of vegetable oil.
When the oil is hot toss in:
 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds
 1 onion cut in half and thinly sliced, wearing your Onion Goggles if you've got 'em.

 1/2 Tbs of chopped shallot
 1 or 2 fresh green chilies slit in half

Stir fry the vegetables and spices until the okra starts to crisp up and the edges begin to brown. This should take about 10 minutes or so.
Turn down the heat and add in:
 2 Tbs of roasted chopped peanuts

 1/2 tsp of garam masala
Keep stirring and cooking for another 5 minutes.
Sprinkle in:
 1/2 tsp of salt
 2 tsp of lemon juice

Mix everything together well and put it into a serving bowl.
Just before serving, sprinkle the dish with 1 Tbs of grated unsweetened coconut.

Serve it up and enjoy.

   So there it is, Okra made tempting and crispy with peanuts and coconut. This is by no means the same as a Mallomar under the sink or otherwise, but it just may go a long way toward making this very under-appreciated vegetable a bit more popular around your house.

   Coming up next, I'm whipping up some sweet gluten free Diwali treats. No okra will be involved in those recipes... promise. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Sorry H8ers..Okras' Back In Town

   Poor okra. Nobody loves her. She is a joke worse than spinach. The mere mention of her name at a party sends guests running for the hills. Nobody wants to have dinner with her. Every time her name comes up it's the same old thing..."No! Don't have her...She's slippery, she's slimy " Where's the love?
   Imagine growing up Okra. Those traumatic family reunions, you know when all the Malvaceae  clan get together. Don't even mention Thanksgiving. Sitting at the table with her beautiful older sister, international sex symbol Cocoa, the Angelina Jolie of the food world. I mean she just happens to be a natural aphrodisiac. Hello? how's a girl to compete?
   Of course there's her extremely successful older brother Jute, you know the Carpet King? He's all business and tough as nails. Everybody's really, really proud of him. There's perky younger brother Mallow, as in Marshmallow, always fun and another big favorite. Even her stinky Uncle Durian is sought after in certain circles. But poor poor Okra is the red headed step child of her family.., and I say that as a red head. So it's time for Okra to get a little respect. Props.
   As someone who cooks Indian food, I love working with okra, aka bindi or ladies fingers. It's a big favorite of the Indian kitchen. It's not always a favorite in my own kitchen however. Alan has been a slow convert to okra. He's got a major fear of "the slimes" so I usually go for a recipe that's spicy and crispy. But on the other hand, that's only one of many, many ways this vegetable can be cooked.
   The other day I saw beautiful okra at the market and I just had to have them. I told Alan we're having okra for lunch. Of course he wanted to know how I was going to fix it. "Not crispy," I told him "but you'll like it. It has yogurt.., and coconut!" One reluctant agreement later I was prepping my lunchtime okra. It didn't take long to have it on the table.

Okra Coconut Curry

Here's what to do:
Rinse and dry 1/2 lb of okra. Cut it into 1/2 inch slices.

Soak 2 Tbs of uncooked rice in  6 Tbs of water for 15 minutes.

 While all that is going on, heat 2 Tbs of oil in a skillet or kadhai.
 When the oil is hot toss in:
  1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
  1/4 tsp of fenugreek
  2 dried red chilies
  10 fresh or frozen curry leaves (these can be found at Indian and many Asian markets.)

 When the mustard seeds start to pop add in:
  2 medium red onions thinly sliced
  3 whole green chilies slit

Stir fry everything together until the onion is translucent.
Mix 1/2 tsp of ground turmeric into 2 cups of plain yogurt and set aside

Take the soaked rice and the water it was soaking in. Place it into a spice grinder or blender and whirl it into a paste.

Add the paste to the yogurt turmeric mixture, and set it aside.
Turn up the heat to high on the onions and chilies and add the okra to the mix

Stir fry everything for about 6 minutes until it's about half cooked through.

Turn down the heat so things don't curdle and pour the yogurt rice mixture into the pan.

Add salt to taste, stir everything together and let it all cook for another few minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Drizzle with 1 Tbs of coconut oil and serve it up.

   Put it together with rice or any sort of vegetable, or even a Western style entree, and you are all set. This is not your crispy fried okra. This is a creamy South Indian style okra curry that can bring the heat. If you 'd rather not have all the chilies, you can always scale things back a bit no problem. If you like okra, you'll love her in this silky yogurt gown, and if you're an okra h'8er this may just change your mind because as I've discovered, coconut is the vegan equivalent of bacon. It seems to make everything tastier.
   Coming up next, I take advice from Glutenfreegirl and give Jovial Gluten Free Pasta a road test.
 Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

The Big O...Or Okra Without Tears

   Okra is one of those vegetables. You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones that send a cold shiver up a lot of people's spines. Lima Beans, parsnips, beets, rutabagas. Usually those vegetables are preceded by the words, "You'd better eat those (vegetable of choice goes here) or no dessert!" Vegetables may go with a lot of things, but threats aren't one of them. Playing amateur shrink here, I can pretty much say with certainty that these vegetable aversions mostly come from childhood trauma. The biggest problem with okra can be stated in one 5 letter word. Slime. Ooooooooooo, scary okra!

 
   Playing the Match Game with okra is a no brainer. Black, white, milk, cookies, okra....slime. No matter how I've tried to convince Alan to try some okra, it's always a big "no sale!" As a result as much as I love it, I never cook it. But here we are in the heart of summer and the okra is blooming and looks soooooo tempting at the farmers market. Who could blame me that I just lost control. I yielded to my baser instincts. I went for The Big O.
   Yes, I'm weak and was thinking only of myself, and my okra pleasure. Alan was horrified but I promised him that when I'd finished with it, he'd enjoy himself too. Happy endings all around. So how do you get slime-less okra? Pretty easy as it turns out. The South Indians have the real trick with it. There are a couple of secrets. A hot, hot, hot pan, and dry, dry, dry okra.

Crispy Pan Fried Okra

Here's what to do:
 Start off with a pound of fresh okra. Wash it and let it dry thoroughly. I put mine in a colander and set it out on the deck for a while.

Now that the okra is dry, cut off the little pointy caps and slice it into thin rings.

 Put the sliced okra into a bowl and set it aside.

 In a large skillet or kadhai, heat 3 Tbs of vegetable oil.
 When the oil is hot toss in:
  1 tsp of brown mustard seeds
  4 dried red chili peppers
  10 curry leaves
 When the mustard seeds start to pop
 Add in:
 1 cup of onion chopped fine
 1 serrano chili split down the middle
Stir fry it all until the onion has softened.

Here's where the no slime trick comes in.
 Turn the heat up to high.
 Toss in the chopped okra

 Keep everything moving and stir fry for about 2 minutes or so.
Toss in:
 1/2 tsp of cumin
 1/8 tsp of coriander
 1/2 tsp of kashmiri chili or 1/4 tsp of cayenne mixed with 1/4 tsp of paprika

 Keep stir frying until the okra browns around the edges lightly, about 15 or 20 minutes.
 When the okras' browned toss in:
  1 tsp of salt.
   You are done and slime free. If this doesn't make an okra lover out of you, I don't know what will. So what are you waiting for? Go for The Big O, have a little Summer romance with okra. I won't tell.

  And speaking of Summer, we've been hitting the Tuesday night Sonoma Farmers' Market every week. This is the one night of the week when the whole town comes out to The Plaza with their picnic baskets, folding tables, wine and snacks to enjoy some community spirit.

There's music and food

 and scads of fresh fruit, vegetables

 and flowers from local farmers.

  Assorted strangeness

 Alan always brings his camera

Yours truly

 Winemaker Jacob who makes a killer Syrah

 Paula Wolfert, woman of mystery

 Our friend the Capitain

And a look at some of the other stuff that goes on around here every Tuesday night during the Summer.

So that's the way things have been going this Summer here in Sonoma. Coming up next, bottle gourd and badi, together forever. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori