Conference turris::cooks

    
    I have to agree with #1. But I will add that I did manage to 
    put a few down that had been sauteed in butter with a touch of garlic.
    The "chef" claims that's the only way to cook em.
    
    Personally, I think they'd make better compost.
    
    
    Rob
    

    The quickest receipe and my favorite is fried okra.
    
    Slice okra into thin pinwheels(discard stem end).
    
    Rinse with water and shake in a bag which has a mixture
    of the following:
    2/3 fine grain yellow cornmeal to 1/3 cup flour
    1 tsp garlic salt
    1 tsp pepper
    1/2 tsp red pepper(for you Yankees omit the red pepper)
    
    Allow to sit in bag while heating oil in a skilet(hopefully
    iron) until hot. Fry quickly until crisp and light brown,
    drain and ENJOY!
    
    The Goya brand is the closest I have come to the
    fine stone ground cornmeal I used to get in Texas.
    AH to be in Texas again and not in NE!
    
    I have two other good receipes for for gumbo and
    one for a casserole neither of which is slimey.
    But will have to dig out the book.
    
    BTW In Texas okra is cheap-up here it is around $1 /lb
    outrageous!
    

As promised here is the Shrimp and okra recipe.
    		1/2 lb medium shrimp, shelled and devined
    		1/2 teaspoon salt
                1/4 teaspoon tumeric
    		2 tablespoons corn or peanut oil
    		1 small onion, sliced
    		1 garlic clove, sliced
    		3/4 lb. fresh young okra, ends and tips trimmed
    		1medium-hot red or green chile (3 to 4 inches long)
    				seeded and thinly sliced
    		3 scallions, thinly sliced      
    		1 &1/2 teaspoons oriental fish sauce
    1. In a bowl, toss the shrimp with salt and tumeric. /\Let stand
    at room temp. for 15 min.
    2. In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil. Add onion and garlic;
    stir  fry over moderate heat until golden, 2-3 min.
    3. Add the shrimp, increase the heat to moderatelt high and stir-fry
    for 2 min.. Add okra, chile and scallions and stir-fry until the
    okra is tender and the shrimp are opaque throughout, 3-5 min.. 
    Add the fish sauce and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Serve warm or at
    room temp.

Re .5

>    The Goya brand is the closest I have come to the
>    fine stone ground cornmeal I used to get in Texas.
>    AH to be in Texas again and not in NE!

Don't know where you are located, but you might try Concord Spice & Grain, 
across from the the depot on Thoreau St in Concord, Ma.  They carry a brand of 
Masa Harina (not Goya) that sounds like what you are looking for, as well as 
several different bulk meals in brown bags.  

And while you are there, they have jars of "hot" pickled okra that are pretty 
good, but not as hot as they make you think.  

						     
							- JP

    re.5  I agree, as a converted Yankee, that fried okra is a true
    delite.  When you shake the okra with the cornmeal be sure that
    the okra is not too wet. Otherwise the cornmeal will not adhere.
    A variation is to fry the okra in pancake batter instead of corn-
    meal.  I can't grow the okra fast enough for my family.

    My relatives in Virginia keep me supplied with pickled Okra.  It
    goes GREAT with beer!  (Best beer pickle I've ever tasted!)  Until
    I discovered pickled okra, my only exposure to the stuff was as
    a thickener for soups, etc.
    
    							-Steve

	There's a fellow on cable (Justin Wilson) who does a Cajun cooking
    show (w/ quite a bit of humor, I might add) who showed how to de-slime
    Okra. Frankly, I've never been desperate enough to eat a food that
    had to be de-slimed first to try it, but the technique is presented
    here for those driven to try:
    	two cups chopped okra
    	1/4 cup vinegar
    	2 cups water
    
    	Bring water to boil, add vinegar and stir in okra. Parboil for
    	two minutes, drain, and then do with the okra whatever you intend
    	( bury it, away from your water supply, I imagine ).{
    
    		As you may have guessed, not an okra fan -
    
    						Max
    

	I'm in the Boston/Worcester area and usually Justin Wilson's 
	Cajun Cooking show is either on Channels 2 or 44, and I have
	seen him on the cable station Dr Ruth's Good Sex show is on
	(is it Life/Lifetime network? (channel 72 in Shrewsbury))....
	I'm not sure of times (I'll check), but I have seen the program
	on a Saturday or Sunday.

	He is VERY humourous (always has a great story to tell, or a
	good joke). I also believe he has a cookbook or two out on the
	market.

	re .15 -

 	I did some checking on the weekend....I found that Justin Wilson's
	Louisiana Cooking show is on (I believe) Sunday thru Saturday (but
	definately Monday thru Friday) on The Learning Channel/NJT (in
	Shrewsbury, channel 72). I didn't see his show listed on the PBS
	stations, but I'll do some further research and post the info later.

	I caught the show on Saturday....it was a repeat of him roasting
	a whole pig (the Lousi-ana way, I ga-ron-tee!).

	Marc

    Mix equal parts okra, lard, RC Cola, and Red Man.  Shoot with a
    shotgun.  Serve over Hush Puppies.  (If serving in Cambridge, top
    with goat cheese or sun-dried tomatoes.)

According to the DIAL, Justin Wilson will have a new (?) show on WGBH, channel 
2 Boston, in May.  It is a half an hour on Saturday mornings (10 or 10:30).  
It is called Justin Wilson Louisianna Cooking OUTDOORS.  MMMM-mmmmm jest in 
time for de bubuque, I garontee!

						     
							- JP

Back to recipes -

I don't know if this method is considered "authentic," but my family
always fixed fried okra as follows:

- Clean okra by cutting off tips and "caps" (the stem end).
- Steam the okra 'til just tender.  
- Beat one or two eggs, depending on how much okra you have.
- Using a rolling pen, crush saltine crackers 'til you have
  cracker crumbs that are about 1/8 inch big.  Don't crush them 
  too fine; you want some crunch left.
- After the okra has cooled, dip each piece in the egg mixture.
- Dip the egg-coated okra in the cracker crumb mixture.  This is
  where it gets messy, so you might want to use forks and do this
  one piece at a time. (Or get your kids to do it.  I loved this messy
  process as a kid!)
 
At this point, you can freeze the crumb-coated okra.  This is 
especially good if your garden overfloweth and you want some 
in the winter!

Finally, fry the okra (fresh or thawed-frozen) in a skillet filled with
3/4 inch of vegetable oil until the crumbs are browned.

This is very tasty!

    Stir fry with scallions, soy, little  sugar and vinegar  and lots
    of ginger! serve on top of rice.

    I was experiment with Okra the other nite, came up with this:
    
    	1 lb Okra (fresh or frozen)
    	3 cloves crushed garlic
    	1/2 lb Scallops
    	2 T Olive Oil
    	1/2 cup lemon juice
    	Tabasco
    
    Chop the okra into chunks.  Saute with garlic 
    in oil and and several dashes of
    tabasco until slimy but not mushy.  Add scallops and a  splash of
    lemon juice and saute until the scallops are done (not too long!) --
    you may want to add another dash or three of tabasco too.
    
    Remove okra and scallops, and deglaze the pan with the remaining lemon
    juice.  Pour pan liquids over okra & scallops.
    
    		George