let's start some okra love!

[karstmama]

they are awesome breaded & fried, wonderful not breaded & fried, and surprisingly good roasted. ok, so i don't like them cooked to maximize the slime, but there are other things to do that are great.

any other okra fans out there?

[ehlana06]

I LOVE it, but it's very hard to find where I live :(

[trentsmom]

Only in okra fritters. I just can't get past the slime and the small hairs when it's not fried.

[zukeypur]

Grill!!!! Or raw. But if they make it into the house without me eating them while I pick the rest of the garden, I grill them.

[pb&j]

I pickled some with the Perfect Pickler. (http://www.perfectpickler.com/) Delicious!

[LMPC]

We slice and bake them here a lot. Loved by all!!! There's a restaurant in Asheville, NC that has the BEST fried ones...they don't bread them. Just sliced and quick fried. Sprinkled with salt and a squeeze of lime. YUM!!!

[lizzywednesday]

DH can't get past any texture.

Me, I eat 'em fried, breaded & fried, in stews and pickled.

Love okra.

For some recipes, you might want to check out the "Okraphobia" episode of 'Good Eats':

http://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/okraphobia/index.html

[citymama]

YEAH! Sign me up for the club! Big Okra fan here. We buy it at our farmers' market or Asian grocery stores all through the summer. We make it Indian style, crunchy and finely chopped with potatoes, mustard seeds, cumin and coriander. My kids LOVE it! I also like Filipino Pinakbet or Chinese style fried okra (whole).

Indian okra recipe: http://www.sailusfood.com/2009/10/09/sukhi-sabzi-aloo-bhindi-potato-okra-stir-fry/

Pinakbet: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pinakbet-recipe/index.html (I make it vegan, minus pork and shrimp, and I also fry mine up rather than make it like a stew because I don't like okra when it's in a stew. So mine isn't authentic pinakbet, but it's yummy nonetheless!)

As my DH says, if you don't like okra, you've never eaten it prepared right.

[zukeypur]

Oh yum! Thanks!!! We'ree having Indian tonight and this will be perfect!

[joules]

I love it in Gumbo!! I just buy the Zataran's gumbo mix and throw in some meats and okra. Since the stew itself is kind of thick..the slime isn't as noticible. But I don't mind the slime at all anyways.

[karstmama]

thanks for all the ideas, guys! :D i admit i like brussels sprouts better, but okra seems so unloved i wanted to see what y'all would come up with.

[essnce629]

Hmm, I'm going to try roasting okra for the first time. Sounds delicious!

[tropicalmom]

This thread made me smile. We just spent over a month in Louisiana with family and DD had to get her DAILY fix of fried okra. She quickly learned that she liked the breaded with corn meal version fried crispy and insisted on going to Church's Chicken every day and ordering okra. We can't find it where we live so brought back seeds to plant in the garden. Any growing tips are welcome since this will be our first garden.

[citymama]

Growing okra is easy in really hot climates and impossible elsewhere. When I lived in DC, I would plant in late May/early June (when nights start to get warm - the seeds/plant don't tolerate any cold) and harvest a bounty in August. Pick them when still slender and about as long as a "lady's finger" - do not let them get woody or stay on the plant too long. They're inedible like that. The plant will keep bearing okra every 3-4 days if you pick regularly. I've tried to plant here in the Bay Area, but it just doesn't work, even in the hottest temps bc of the cooling off at night. The plant germinated but didn't thrive. However, our farmers markets have a lot of okra since the farms are in the blazing hot interior, just a couple hours from here.

[tropicalmom]

Thanks, citymama. We're down in Cabo, Mexico so blazing hot shouldn't be an issue here :-)

[citymama]

Thanks, citymama. We're down in Cabo, Mexico so blazing hot shouldn't be an issue here :-)

Lucky, lucky!