Fried Okra

It took a 'little' longer to make the fried okra

than I had originally hoped, but now I have

had time to get it done and I

got some good pictures to boot!

Here's the end product:

Mmm.  Mmmm.  Good!!!

For any of you who are not familiar with okra,

I thought you might like to see how I cook it.

So...read on!!!

I cook okra just the way my mother taught me!

You can start with the okra fresh or frozen.
I don't dethaw it when it is frozen.  I just
go straight from the freezer to coating it,
to frying it.  This procedure doesn't
give the okra time to turn slimy.

For this much okra, I use a scant 1/2cup of 

white flour and 1/2 to1tsp of pepper and salt

(adjust to taste, of course!).

Then I find a container with a tight lid

and shake the okra with the 

flour mixture.

After I get the oil heated in the skillet,

 I pop the coated okra into the skillet and

cover it with a screen to prevent 

the oil from splattering.

Lately, my eldest son has been helping me with 

the frying.  He does a better job than I do!

The secret to frying okra is to not turn it too often.

Don't turn it until it starts to smell really good and

you think it might be burning.  This is actually a

GOOD sign with okra.  When the okra is done,

you should have a mixture of green, brown, and black.

The burnt black okra is actually the tastiest to me.

It is crunchy and has a great flavor.

It needs to be offset with the less done

pieces however because it does have

a strong flavor and the other levels

of 'doneness' give the dish a balanced

taste that is OH SO YUMMY!

A cast iron skillet works best.  I find that

a teflon skillet will not fry okra to a crunchy state

and the okra can be slimy.  

I'm not really a fan of slimy okra.

The other main way I use okra is to throw it into a

stew with lots of other veggies to add variety and flavor.

What favorite okra recipes do you use?

I want to know since I now have a freezer full

with more okra coming from the garden 

all the time.  The Lord has blessed with

a BOUNTY!

Aren't they cute?

Joys of the Translator

Hello Friends!!!

I just found out how to put

a translator on my page,

and I wanted to draw

your attention to it!

And I'm excited because I know

I get visits from all over the world.

So now hopefully it will be easier for

everyone to understand what I'm

saying and you will want to visit

MORE OFTEN!

Let me know if it is working

well or not.  :)

Okra Explosion!

I have been wanting to get this blog post done since last week, but as I said, life has been jam-packed full.  I just got through my last extra meeting for a little while.  But school and soccer are in full swing this week.  Next week is a break week for our little homeschool which, by the way, we call Wisdom Trackers Academy.  Maybe I will get the time to do so of the finishing work on my crochet projects.  I have completed the butterfly I was working on, but I have to iron and block it before I can do the ta-daa!! moment.  I also need to get some ribbon for those bootie ballet slippers!

My garden has been awesome this year.  As you've seen from other posts, the tomato plant and the okra have been growing into mammoth plants.  The tomato is pretty much toast, but take a look at this okra:

The 1st pictures show the plants in juxtaposition

to other tall things in the backyard.

Like the 6' fence:

And the tree and power line:

a

I have to pull some of the stalks over and down to
where I can reach the pods in order to cut them!!!

Here's what some of the crazy, thick stalks look like:

This, of course, is the flower that results in the fruit of the plant:

And the okra pods themselves:

These grow amazingly quickly and must
be cut with clippers every day to day and a half.

This is an average picking day's worth:

In order to prepare them for eating fresh,
just slice them for your recipe.
If you are wanting to freeze them
for future use like I do, you
slice them, slip them into a zip-lock bag
and seal it, then throw the bag in the freezer.

(Some pods grow a little crooked.)

An average day makes about 1 to
1 1/2 gallon bags of sliced okra.

Some pods get rather large, as you can see.
When they are this big, they get tough and are
very stringy to try to eat.  Okra are best picked
while small and sliced while fresh.

Make sure you pick them frequently!!!
If you have a busy weekend and can't
get to it like I didn't this past weekend,
then the harvest explodes and too many
of the pods grow big, thick, and tough.

Like this!

(This load gave almost 3 gallon bags full
even with all the pods I had to throw
out because they were too tough.)

Coming soon:  ~FRIED OKRA~

YUM!  YUM!!  YUM!!!

BELLA CROCHET - Elizabeth Ann White

If you remember this:  Beautiful Butterflies

And this:  Dainty Lady in Sage

They are examples of the designs of Elizabeth Ann White.

Here is a sample of Ann's work over at Bella Crochet that I found on http://www.youtube.com.  Just thought you might like to see this.

Nice, huh?

I really like her work.

Whirl Wind Week

 Is it REALLY Thursday already?

I can hardly believe it!

Where has it gone?

I'm sure I don't know.  I have been busily teaching my boys and baking pumpkin bread and cookies and hauling boys to various activities and going to Church.  Today, I squeezed in cleaning my refrigerator!

Yay me!!!

I thought, 'while it is almost empty...'

I have a little more to do on the last side of the Summer Breeze Sweater before I can sew the shoulder seams and begin on the sleeves.  I just squeeze in a little here and a little there while a boy is reading to me or while I'm waiting somewhere.  Though I don't see much progress at each sitting, slowly but surely, it is getting finished.

Now I am applying the same principal to blogging today.  I have a boy reading to me, and I am typing as I can.  I looked and saw that it has been since last Saturday since I talked to you.  I thought, 'I'd better get on the ball!'  So here I am trying to stay 'on the ball' and juggle tasks without falling off.  I know I'll fall off sometimes, but as long as I get up and keep on trying, I will get somewhere!  The Lord is constantly empowering me and motivating to persevere in all the tasks that call my name.

(A blogging friend asked me where I got the Summer Breeze pattern.  It is a Coats and Clarks free project sheet (LC1332).  I don't know if you can get it from them or not.)

A Day for Remembering...

And appreciating life...

And beauty that still is...

And being a refreshing fragrance in this world 

for those who still walk in it...

THANK YOU TO THOSE OF YOU WHO 

GAVE YOUR LIVES FOR THE SAKE

OF ANOTHER OR WHO RISK

YOUR LIVES TO KEEP US SAFE.

A PRAYER FOR COMFORT AND PEACE

FOR THOSE WHO LOST

A LOVED ONE 9 YEARS AGO

OR IN THE STRUGGLE SINCE THEN.

A CHARGE FOR THOSE OF US LEFT BEHIND

TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THOSE

WHO ARE NEAR US OR

COME AFTER US.