Scripture For The Soul
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
My husband grew up eating fried okra. I didn’t. He loves fried okra. I don’t. However, it is summer, okra is plentiful, and being the good wife that I am 🙂 I was preparing to fix him some okra for dinner the other night. It seems that “Southern” is often synonymous with “fried.” In a rare exception “fried” is also synonymous with “okra.” There seems to be only a few things more Southern than fried okra — breaded and dropped in a big pan of grease! About that time I received a phone call from my friend Adrian. I shared with her that I was treating my husband to some fresh fried okra that night although mom and I neither one eat it. She said, “do you want to know the very best way to fix it?”
Now, okra and I go back a long ways. Years ago I tried to show my husband I could be a “southern cook” with the best of them and I fried up a whole mess of okra – whole pod and all! If you know okra, then you know you DON’T fry it up whole pod and all! The optimum word here is “mess” — one big slimy, gooey mess! Sometimes in the quiet of my kitchen I can still hear my husband roar with laughter when I proudly took the lid off the skillet and showed him my southern fried okra! However, I digress … I told Adrian I would love to know the best way to cook okra. After she explained what to do I decided right then to take her suggestion and make the best okra ever! As it turns out – she was right. Mom and I loved it, my husband loved it, and now I just might fry okra more than once a year 🙂 Actually, I plan to do it again, add some onions and maybe even green pepper. Oh, the possibilities are becoming endless.
Thank you Lord for the summer’s bountiful crops and for great friends with the best recipes!
Adrian’s Best Fried Okra |
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Ingredients:
When choosing okra, select pods that are bright green and about 3 Many people prepare the okra for frying with a batter coating. For this recipe use just a light coating of finely ground cornmeal or self-rising cornmeal mix. Very simple. The lighter coating gives the okra an opportunity to crisp up during the frying process.
Wash and peel potatoes. Dice in to fairly small pieces about the size of the okra. Pour oil to a depth of about 1/4” in a heavy cast iron frying pan or your favorite skillet. Heat the oil over medium high heat and test for readiness by dropping a piece of the potato into the pan. If the potato immediately begins to bubble the oil is ready for cooking.
If desired, lightly salt before serving. Absolutely delicious! Noteworthy:
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Catherine, I too use a similar recipe for okra, but I meal the potato and onion also. Love your blog. Connie