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["Marie McHarry" <mmcharry AT gmail.com>]

On 9/26/06, SISU! <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Which is why I posted it.  I know there are plenty of folks who have
> never grown or eaten okra, and those that have eaten it, usually have
> eaten it fried and liked it, or eaten it boiled or steamed and did not
> due to it's characteristic often slimy texture when prepared that way.
I love pickled okra. My late husband made a great hot okra pickle. He
gave it as gifts, and after he died one of his friends wondered how he
could he the last pint he had because there wouldn't be any more. I
told him not to let it go to waste.

Back in the day when I was teaching writing to college freshmen one of
the assignments was to write about a food they particularly liked or
dislike and explain why. The best (and by far the funniest) essay I
ever got on the topic was about okra. The writer, born in Chicago,
went to visit her grandmother in Mississippi and had to figure out
what to do about the boiled okra Grandma put on her plate -- after the
first bite, eating it was out of the question.

I'm partial to okra in things like Texas rice, gumbo, and soups. The
slime isn't a problem in stuff like that.

I like fried okra fine, but it's the sort of treat I have about once a year.

> Van Dell, you are in mid northern Missouri, right?  If you can grow corn,
> you can grow okra.  It's really good for you and despite it's
> reputation, it's tasty and easy to grow, prepare, and can.  It also
> produces continuously, so those on a budget get their money's worth from
> a few okra plants.  Try it next year.

A seed packet of okra will give you all the okra you need for a year.
I'm sure it will grow okay anywhere in Missouri; it grows just fine in
central Illinois. Better even than zucchini.

Marie