Okra

I've had a number of people ask me, what the heck do you do with Okra. So I did a little research.

http://southernfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa081401a.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okra

Wikipedia states that Okra "has the same mucilaginous properties as nopales [prickly pear cactus fruit]." This is a very nice way of saying, its slimy.

So, word of warning, if you can't handle slimy foods....don't try to eat this. If you aren't sure, only buy a few okra at first.

If you want to try okra, there are many ways to cook it. You can steam it, boil it, cook it in stew. You can cut it in small rounds and fry it, a favorite of ours is to bread it like eggplant parmesan and fry it that way. I also like to stir fry it with onions and Indian spices like curry or garam masala.

The best way to prepare it depends on how you will cook it. If you are going to leave it whole, just trim off any blackened ends and then cook as desired. Word of caution here, leaving it whole will give you more of the slimy properties.

If you are wanting small peices, cut off the very tip of the pod and the stem and then cut the remaining portion into rounds. Prepare and cook as desired.

I hope all this information helped you all.