<p>You can’t have an okra thread without the Delta State Fighting Okra!</p>
<p>[Meet</a> Delta State?s unofficial mascot: The Fighting Okra | Dr. Saturday - Yahoo! Sports](<a href=“Meet Delta State’s unofficial mascot: The Fighting Okra”>Meet Delta State’s unofficial mascot: The Fighting Okra)</p>
<p>“Can’t understand all you subversives who distain these wonderfully bright green pods.”</p>
<p>I grow red ones. Got the seeds from Wenatchee.</p>
<p>“There aren’t too many different kinds, green beans, broccoli, cauliflowers, brussel sprouts, asparagus, and okra. And leafy greens. Not enough to rotate over a week. I would hate eating the same within a week.”</p>
<p>I grow purple (Romano), yellow, and French green bush beans, climbing Venetian and Roman Romano beans, the Marvellous Beans of the Piedmont (yellow with purple plotches), and scarlett runner beans; escarole, endive, endive frisee, red Italian lettuce, Grenoble letter, and arugula, Chinese broccoli, broccoli raab, and cauliflower romanescu, four kinds of carrots (not doing well), bright lights chard, Italian chard, Red Russian kale, Scotch blue kale, purple brussel sprouts, cipolini onions, garlic, yellow beets, red cylinder beets, three kinds of pea pods, round eggplant, Florentine eggplant, golden treasure peppers, hungarian wax peppers, and six varieties of tomatoes.</p>
<p>WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?</p>
<p>Fried okra is THE BEST. Slice them up, soak them in buttermilk, roll them in a 50:50 mix of flour and cornmeal, and then deep fry them until they’re crispy brown on the outside.</p>
<p>For the naysayers who think that any deep-fried veggie is interchangeable with another - I think that fried okra beats fried mushrooms, french fried potatoes, fried cauliflower, and/or fried zucchini. Hands down. Not even close.</p>
<p>I get it, but I still wouldn’t like to fill my dinner all week with yellowbeans, greenbeans, french beans, climbing green, venetian green, roman, runner, etc, etc and call it different vegetables. They taste about same most part and the bright color disappears when cooked not that I eat with eyes.</p>
<p>Some of the Romano beans taste very different. And the French-style ones are a real treat. But if you don’t like beans, there are plenty of other things to eat. (The Red Russian kale and the Italian chard are my favs.)</p>
<p>I never fry okra. Sauteed, with a little cumin and tumeric and onion for me.</p>
<p>Mini, I found burgundy okra seed for the first time this spring at a local mega-mart seed rack. Asked my okra-loving aunt, who was raised on a farm, and she turned up her nose. LOL. Love her, but she’s not the most intrepid individual when it comes to trying something new.</p>
<p>The reports of your garden are awsome, Mini. Wish I had a yard that could accomodate numerous edible plants. Also, you’re absolutely right about beans. Anyone who thinks they all taste the same hasn’t tried enough varieties. It’s only in recent years that I’ve discovered navy, yellow eye, cranberry and brown lentil beans. Grew up on pintos, black eyed peas and limas. All of which have a distinct and unique flavor. It’s really a loss to Americans’ nutrition and health that the majority of the U.S. lentil crop is exported.</p>
<p>I have dreams of doing that “square foot gardening” but I haven’t put it into action yet. Your garden does sound wonderful, mimi. We eat a lot of lentils (as much as DH’s digestion can withstand!) as my mom’s family has a farm over in the Palouse where they grow wheat, barley and lentils.</p>
<p>There are a LOT of different vegetables in HI, especially locally grown and from Asia. Love pea shoots and fern shoots, as well as many, many different cabbages and other vegetables. It’s easy to make vegetables the main attraction with some protein thrown in for good measure.</p>
<p>Mini. Wish I had a yard that could accomodate numerous edible plants."</p>
<p>Well, I basically dug up the front lawn. My challenge is that there are too many tall trees, and not really enough sun. I’m currently experimenting with five varieties of blueberries in a spot that gets maybe 4 1/2 hours of direct sunlight. So far, three of the five varieties actually have berries (and this is their first year!) I have four kinds of raspberries, none of which receive any direct sun to speak of, and they all do fine, though the dog gets some of them before we do.</p>
<p>The challenge of course are the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. So as an experiment this year, I’m growing two of each variety, one in the greenhouse and one outdoors to see what happens.</p>
<p>Well, if I move back to the PNW if Inslee is elected governor maybe I’ll raid your garden. Oops, no politics on CC!!!</p>
<p>Re: fishheads-- I don’t know how Americans typically cook fish heads, but I think Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia do it pretty well – <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fisheadcurry.JPG[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fisheadcurry.JPG</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
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<p>Kale
Spinach
Swiss chard
Green onions
Leeks
Lettuce
other salad greens
Cabbage
Artichokes
Parsley
Taro leaves
Seaweed
Chinese broccoli
Bok choy
Canola leaves</p>
<p>Kale and mess of greens don’t fry well… :(</p>
<p>Sage is one leafy green that fries well, or so I have been told.</p>
<p>Getting back to Okra, the leaves are as edible as the pods. They are, however, a bit tough so I would suggest simmering them for a long while, just as you would collard greens. Also, I’ve been a seaweed fan since buying some out of curiousity a couple of years ago. Always thought it was an Asian specialty but apparently the people of the British Isles and folks in Maine in the good old USA have enjoyed the stuff for years.</p>
<p>Well all asian vegetables fry well. Even daikon radish. It’s like the vegetables were bred for stir fry.</p>
<p>Our family LOVE okra. I am so surprised to learn there are so many people who don’t like it. I love it in gumbo of course, and I stir fry it with a spice mix from Asia consisting of chilli powder, dried shrimp (belacan), shallots, tamarind (kind of sour). </p>
<p>It is a treat for us.</p>
<p>I feel inspired to share this roasted okra and corn recipe I tried recently. It was a hit with my family, and since we rarely can find fresh okra I can make it any time. No slime was detected. 
I used both frozen corn and frozen okra. The Cajun seasoning (I forgot which brand I bought) gave the dish a nice zing. I haven’t tried the catfish recipe, but it looks promising as well.</p>
<p>[Louisiana</a> Catfish with Okra & Corn Recipe | Eating Well](<a href=“http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/louisiana_catfish_okra_corn.html]Louisiana”>Healthy Catfish Recipes)</p>
<p>I love to plant okra. I love the fact that you get a pretty flower and then a pod, serves two purposes. I’ve also heard okra is good for normalizing blood sugar for diabetes and also cholestorol level. I love it best in gumbo, I’m ok with eating it slightly steamed.</p>
<p>munchkin - I think many of us non-likers didn’t grow up with it and don’t know all the cultural lore about proper uses and preparation. Admittedly, I’ve just dumped it in stuff that I thought it went in and didn’t give due attention to the finer points.</p>
<p>Anyone tried kale chips?
[Kale</a> Chips Recipe | Eating Well](<a href=“http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/kale_chips.html]Kale”>Kale Chips)</p>
![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fisheadcurry.JPG[/url]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fisheadcurry.JPG%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
