Okra and tomatoes

[YouKnowWho]

DS2 fell in love with okra and tomatoes, go figure.  And I know I could make them from scratch but I do a lot of that.  And if it comes down to it, I will.  (Yes, this a child who won't eat fresh tomatoes and once ate broccoli for 18mo - but he keeps finding odd things he likes, like fried squash and roasted brussel sprouts and fried green tomatoes, he snubbed up his nose at fried okra though, go figure).

Margaret Holmes - says peanuts are made in the facility.

Glory (who has been my go to brand looking for a Margaret Holmes alternative) now has, may contain peanuts.

Any other brands I can search for??

[Macabre]

I have never bought canned. Shudder. Really. Okra is mama's milk to me (but I was formula fed, lol).

I get fresh when I can and it looks good. Otherwise I get frozen, and it's just fine. I don't know how you'd fry it, but it's good for our normal purposes (we but fried okra at Dickey's BBQ--it's been very good, though the Dickey's here less so than Virginia and Virginia less so than Texas.

I enjoy dipping fried okra in ranch dressing.

[Macabre]

Taste (or Talk) of Texas makes wonderful pickled okra. It was the first pickled thing DS liked. They are yummy and we always keep them in our fridge.


I've posted a good gumbo recipe here somewhere. It's vegetarian as you might imagine. YUMMY!!

[YouKnowWho]

DS2 is an okra purist - he did not care for it fried.  We do have the okra pickles from Taste of Texas but have not opened them yet.

I can definitely do the frozen okra, just figured opening a can would be easier given my dinner prep hour.  Though conceivably I could make at lunch or on a day that I don't plan to serve.  Guessing it's like chili and would age well

[YouKnowWho]

Taste (or Talk) of Texas makes wonderful pickled okra. It was the first pickled thing DS liked. They are yummy and we always keep them in our fridge.


I've posted a good gumbo recipe here somewhere. It's vegetarian as you might imagine. YUMMY!!

We tried them last night and 

[Macabre]

They are yummy.  I take them to church potlucks just to surprise people. 

[becca]

I have used frozen okra in gumbo.  Only way I have used it.  So, is Okra and tomatoes together a dish or recipe.  Or, is it a HOTDISH?  lol.  Seriously, is it a dish together?  Not much okra cooking going on in my neck of the woods. 

[YouKnowWho]

I have used frozen okra in gumbo.  Only way I have used it.  So, is Okra and tomatoes together a dish or recipe.  Or, is it a HOTDISH?  lol.  Seriously, is it a dish together?  Not much okra cooking going on in my neck of the woods.

It was a hot dish

I did some googling and there are a variety of recipes out there.  I would post some here but it really depends on the taste you are aiming for.  Interesting tidbit - if you saute okra at a high heat, it loses the slimy texture. 

LOL'ing at the okra in your neck of the woods.  There are certain veggies I never ate, mainly because they were never introduced in our family growing up.  Okra, greens, broccoli (yes, my parents didn't learn to like it until after I moved out), asparagus, brussel sprouts, eggplant (I actually love the taste of eggplant, it just hates me) - the list is long.  And I had a basic assumption that all of them would be nasty because people around me complained about them so much but they were WRONG  My veggie consumption was limited to canned veggies growing up.

[Macabre]

I am seeing okra at farmers' markets here.

Also, if you soak it in milk the sliminess is diminished. I've heard--but haven't tried.

But I haven't really eaten slimy okra since I was a child and my mom made boiled okra. My sister used to call it "calf slobbers."  Yep. Accurate.

But steaming okra doesn't result in slimy stuff. Not does just cooking it for gumbo. YKW I posted a gumbo recipe last year here. Very good. If you use the recipe but without the roux, you've got okra and tomatoes (which I have not had or heard if as a thing, but more power to you). With the roux, you've got gumbo.

[krasota]

I can no longer eat tomatoes, but fresh or frozen okra tossed in a pan with olive oil, onion (already sautéed until it's translucent and browning), and a can of fire roasted tomatoes is simple and amazingly tasty.

And how old is he?  Old enough to do it on his own?  I'd let my son do this if the onions were pre-chopped/sliced.

[YouKnowWho]

He is 7 and absent minded - cooking is probably not a good mix for him.

But that sounds like a good recipe to start with (and something that I could probably make ahead of time given the meltdowns always erupt at that hour).

[Macabre]

Gumbo Recipies

[YouKnowWho]

Gumbo is good in theory, but it's that darn roux.  I could butcher up a roux.  I must do searches for gluten free roux's

[twinturbo]

Whaa? Okra has natural thickening properties. You could do arrowroot for good measure.

[YouKnowWho]

Sweet Rice flour and Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose flour seem to be the two that come up the most.  Millet also popped up for having nuttiness (LOL @ posting that here) and quinoa flour seemed to be too nutty.

Hmmmm.  I sense some winter possibilities here