Snotty Okra

Alright. So I was super excited to make dinner last night. I had this awesome dinner planned: Cornmeal-Crusted Eggplant, Black-Eyed Pea and Pickled Okra Relish, Sauteed Collards and Grilled Tomatoes. Sounds delicious, right?? Well, it was...but, no one warned me about okra. I had no idea that it got to gosh darn snotty!! My only experiences with it were fried and in gumbo. I had never experienced the mucus. The way it clings to the back of your throat as you try to swallow. The relish was delicious, great flavor combination, but the texture appalled me so much that I threw it all away. Bummer. Utterly disappointed. But, this is how you learn! I did a little research and discovered some tips to prevent this next time: 1. Pickle the okra longer (I only did it for 2 days), 2. Don't chop, just slice, 3. Stir in right before serving. These appear to fix the problem of the snottiness, at least some. Another piece of advice, if you are not going to pickle the okra, stick to frying, sauteing, and using to thicken stews. Now for the recipes

Cornmeal-Crusted Eggplant: Yields 4 Servings
1/2 cup all-purpose or gluten-free flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 T Cajun seasoning, divided
salt, to taste
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 T olive oil

1. Heat oven to 350. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet.
2. Place the flour, egg and cornmeal in three separate shallow bowls. Add 1 T of Cajun seasoning to the flour, and 1 T to the cornmeal. Season both with salt.
3. Dredge the eggplant in flour. Shake off excess. Dip in egg and then in cornmeal. Place on prepared rack/sheet. Repeat with remaining eggplant rounds.
4. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with additional salt, to taste. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and crisp.


Black-Eyed Pea and Pickled Okra Relish: Yields 4-6 Servings
1/2 small yellow onion, small dice
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 T chopped dill
1 T white wine vinegar
1 cup cooked black-eyed peas
1 cup okra, sliced into 1/2-in rounds
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine onion, tomato, dill, vinegar and black-eyed peas. Stir in okra right before serving and season to taste with salt and pepper.


Grilled Tomatoes: Yields 4 Servings
1 T olive oil
4 plum tomatoes, halved length-wise
1 T agave
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat grill or grill pan over medium-high heat and brush lightly with oil. Brush cut-side of tomato halves with agave. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill cut-side down until charred.


These were super simple recipes and my take on down-home cookin'. Hope you like them-just be careful with the okra. I wont be able to cook this weekend, but if I get the chance, I'll post the awesome Trail Mix Bars recipe (also from last night). Enjoy the holiday!