Food log: typical half a papaya, green papaya salad with 1/8 c of peanuts, stove popped popcorn, a few bites of pineapple, a small roasted potato, green butter lettuce salad with avocado and tomato, half a piece of cornbread and home-made fried okra and 1/2 piece of a chocolate covered macadamia nut from Hawaiian host. Total 2.5 fruit, 4 vegetable if you add the potato. The combination of avocado and tomato I counted as a serving of fruit since technically they are but since they are not sweet- its more like a veggie.

Exercise 30 minute beginner kettlebell, weeding the yard, might go for a walk in a bit but might not.

Experimenting with okra was not in my plans this morning when I went to the local farmer’s market. However, this is one of those vegetables I like to eat out fried when it’s on the menu at a southern style restaurant. I tried to cook it once before and it was not good. I bought some again today, came home and searched the internet.

If google had not strategically placed one of its questions, “How do I keep okra from getting slimy?” in the middle of my results page, tonight’s okra might have turned out like last time. There were a variety of recommendations, soak in vinegar, layout on a paper towel, cook on very high heat pretty soon after cutting. Not sure if it made a difference but I sort of did all three, because I am hugely particular about food texture, no slime, no grittiness, no gel-like ick, preferable nothing that squishes. I washed, dried, cut in 1/4 inch slices, laid out on a papertowel (thank you Carribbean cook dude), sprinkled with vinegar and left to sit out in the sun for 15-20 minutes before turning the stuck little pieces over for another 10 minute sunbath.

From there, the little pieces got a 10 second milk shower and were tossed into a coating of cornmeal, flax seed pieces (from this mix that came from costco), and a tablespoon of cornstarch and a tablespoon of whatever curry power that was on hand.. They almost stuck together, but they were quickly removed from the bowl and tossed into a non-stick frying pan sizzling with 3-5 Tablespoons of oil, onion and garlic pieces. They got spread out and 5 minutes later, every single little piece got flipped and separated from its neighbor so it did not stick. The coating on the flip looked crunchy and it appeared they might even be edible. Another 3-5 minutes and the coating seemed on the verge of turning dark or burning. The pan was removed from the heat, and I forked one piece, was relieved to find it tender because the four Youtube videos I watched seemed to cook those little bites for more than 8-10 minutes.

That sample was pretty good and the okra got combined with some oven fried potatoes and a tzatziki sauce. Yum. In retrospect, the garlic and onion chips were burnt to a crisp, but the okra were solid. That mistake could be remedied by starting my oil later. The okra were still lying on the picnic table when I heated the oil the first time. The curry flavor was interesting, but not sure it’s needed. I did add some hot thai peppers to the oil and that gave them a bit of a kick. Again, perhaps hot sauce afterwards would be better. These two items are a matter of taste. As for the meal, probably should have added some carrots to the roasted potato but the meal was filling. Another vegetarian day.

There is enough okra for one more recipe…might try this one again. We will see how the week goes.

https://photos.google.com/u/3/photo/AF1QipPIQ2L1m0LRgXpWGdvxZCKT0IwR8TidPrBumK6h