I can't believe the Okra topic has died.

[Nathan and Daisy Justus]

A busy life has kept me off this site for a LONG time -- but I can't believe the Okra topic finally died.

Nathan

[Frederick L. Simson]

A busy life has kept me [b]off this site for a LONG time

Welcome Back! It has been a long time since the last of the Okra thread.

[Tom Trostel]

We're doing our best to help raise the grand-daughters. Their favorite green vegetable is OKRA.

Tom Trostel

[Donna D.]

Well, it didn't really die. A hacker in 2005 decided he/she needed those 30+ pages more than we did. But since you're revived it we'll have a whole new group of love it/hate it replies

[John Hussey]

Well, it didn't really die. A hacker in 2005 decided he/she needed those 30+ pages more than we did. But since you're revived it we'll have a whole new group of love it/hate it replies

hey, without okra there would be no gumbo! And, we would never experience the subtle, crunchy taste of it lightly breaded and deep-fried..Yummm

[Tom Trostel]

It is commonly accepted that the word "gumbo" comes from the African Bantu word for OKRA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumbo

[SherryNPaul]

Yes, and you wouldn't believe the number of restaurants around here that think seafood, rice, and a thickened sauce (but no roux or okra) is actually gumbo.... No andouille either. They just throw in some extra hot sauce and call it gumbo. Not.

[Nathan and Daisy Justus]

Yes, and you wouldn't believe the number of restaurants around here that think seafood, rice, and a thickened sauce (but no roux or okra) is actually gumbo.... No andouille either. They just throw in some extra hot sauce and call it gumbo. Not.

Can anyone tell me what happened to cooking in America? We used to have wonderful food traditions and now...well...

[Pamela H]

Can anyone tell me what happened to cooking in America? We used to have wonderful food traditions and now...well...

The sad truth that it is one of two mind sets. The first, is "healthy eating"...which seems to have been in place since the 80's. What this meant is they reduced the fat content in our meats...put nutrition labels on all foods...tried to make food healthier. Unfortunately, if you take the marbling out of the meat, you get tough. Does anyone remember the prime beef in the 70's? Not available now unless you get it from a farmer, raising corn fed beef the old way. You have genetically altered fruits and vegetables...meats...etc. Even your recipes aren't the same. Try to find a recipe for a 7 layer lasagna- you get 3. You might find one on www.foodtv.com.

However, if you go to Olive Garden, you get served it. (This is the second mind set...) Calorie highs are worse then they have ever been at the restaurants...breakfast dishes with over 2000 calories, not even including drinks or hashbrowns...Chili's is one of the worst offenders in the highest calorie range.

Obesity in the US is worse then it has ever been...despite the "healthy eating" attempts that have been made. Young people don't even know how to cook, as many in my generation, (Myself included), worked and ate out most frequently. I know people that build these gorgeous kitchens in their homes but never use them. Traditions are lost because they aren't handed down. Food tastes change, and people don't "adhere" to the old ways. We have more culinary diversity now then we ever did in the 60's or 70's, probably due to the fact that people eat out so much. But that diversity doesn't exist in our homes. How many people eat 4 or 5 main dishes most of the time? Its often from lack of time, money or ability. Do you cook like your parents? Do your children? If our kids don't cook that way, then those traditions are lost. Its a sad state of affairs.

Pam

[Mary F]

A busy life has kept me off this site for a LONG time -- but I can't believe the Okra topic finally died.

Nathan

Howdy, Nathan! It's nice to see your post... although, not only has the Okra! thread died, it seems to have been stolen. (I cannot find it anywhere.)

We did resurrect it after the hack. It wasn't the same, though, without Ches's pics of his attempt to rustle up a mess of fried okra, to see what all the hoopla's about.

I dunno where it could've gotten off to... Maybe Rick took it with him when he left?

Glad y're back!

[Pat B Ohio]

OKRA YUMMY!

Little oil or bacon
Onions, lots of Celery, Green Peppers all diced,
Saute and add Okra...simmer 1/2 hour or so....Just heaven.

For a meal, serve over rice. Don't have to be fancy.

[Nathan and Daisy Justus]

I actually think it is the 'healthy eating' kick that has made the 'obesity epidemic' worse.

Remember the days when we decided we really NEEDED a treat, like a piece of cake, a cooky, or something like a cheeseburger, and we simply had one, then went on from there?

Or, when a hamburger was NOT 8-12 ounces but FOUR? (Remember when McDonalds came out with the 'quarter pounder' and it was BIG?).

I have no issues with most foods, at least the ones I am not allergic to. But please, let it be FOOD, not something ersatz.

For example, when I tell my coworkers that I eat fried eggs for breakfast every morning, most of them freak and ask me how I can have such a heavy breakfast.

Heavy? 2 eggs are ~170 calories. Add the 1 teaspoon of fat I use (call it 40 calories) and 1 slice of dry homemade toast (100 calories? let's say 150 calories), and we are up to <400 calories.

Now, a power bar has, what, 300 calories in it? (I have no idea since the one time I tried it, to me it tasted very artificial flavor tasting so I tossed it).

Personally I think I'm coming out better.

Or take today's lunch...yes, I had a small bag of potato chips (150 calories). The rest of my lunch as a portion of lentil soup (250 calories), and a small piece of angel food cake

Hardly 'low fat food' but not terribly caloric.

I'll take my non-diet food that I (try) to eat in moderation (some of the time) over diet foods that usually taste artificial.

Conversely, if I'm going to have steak (and I do) I want tbone, porterhouse, etc.
Or if I'm going to have roast chicken I might remove the skin (don't like it) but DO baste with butter or a good margarine.

What's the point of food that doesn't taste good? But just not too much

(Don't get me started on '100 calorie packs. Yes I know if I buy potato chips in a large bag I will overeat them. But paying >$10 per pound of chips because they are packaged this way is wrong.)

The sad truth that it is one of two mind sets. The first, is "healthy eating"...which seems to have been in place since the 80's. What this meant is they reduced the fat content in our meats...put nutrition labels on all foods...tried to make food healthier. Unfortunately, if you take the marbling out of the meat, you get tough. Does anyone remember the prime beef in the 70's? Not available now unless you get it from a farmer, raising corn fed beef the old way. You have genetically altered fruits and vegetables...meats...etc. Even your recipes aren't the same. Try to find a recipe for a 7 layer lasagna- you get 3. You might find one on www.foodtv.com.

However, if you go to Olive Garden, you get served it. (This is the second mind set...) Calorie highs are worse then they have ever been at the restaurants...breakfast dishes with over 2000 calories, not even including drinks or hashbrowns...Chili's is one of the worst offenders in the highest calorie range.

Obesity in the US is worse then it has ever been...despite the "healthy eating" attempts that have been made. Young people don't even know how to cook, as many in my generation, (Myself included), worked and ate out most frequently. I know people that build these gorgeous kitchens in their homes but never use them. Traditions are lost because they aren't handed down. Food tastes change, and people don't "adhere" to the old ways. We have more culinary diversity now then we ever did in the 60's or 70's, probably due to the fact that people eat out so much. But that diversity doesn't exist in our homes. How many people eat 4 or 5 main dishes most of the time? Its often from lack of time, money or ability. Do you cook like your parents? Do your children? If our kids don't cook that way, then those traditions are lost. Its a sad state of affairs.

Pam

[Nathan and Daisy Justus]

Thanks! Life happens and months then years go by and you realize that you've lost something...it's good to be back.

Howdy, Nathan! It's nice to see your post... although, not only has the Okra! thread died, it seems to have been stolen. (I cannot find it anywhere.)

We did resurrect it after the hack. It wasn't the same, though, without Ches's pics of his attempt to rustle up a mess of fried okra, to see what all the hoopla's about.

I dunno where it could've gotten off to... Maybe Rick took it with him when he left?

Glad y're back!

[Alf S.]

Hi: All... I didn't think it died per se but just played out like the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "OKRAHOMA"
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[JenPB]

Can anyone tell me what happened to cooking in America? We used to have wonderful food traditions and now...well...

Great questions! Read Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," if you're into that kind of thing. I'm really enjoying it. A lot is preaching to the choir, in my case, but there's some good info there...including a chapter about JUST what you're asking!

Back to the garden....

Jen

[JenPB]

Hi: All... I didn't think it died per se but just played out like the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "OKRAHOMA"

In our family, it's tradition to Boo at the best of the puns.

You get a BIG BOOOOOOOOO HISSSS!

[SactoWendy]

Raised in Mississippi, we ate a lot of okra from the garden! I recently went to Dickies BBQ and had fried okra. Even as fast food, they were little bites of my childhood.


We don't see okra in Sacramento, CA often.

[Mary F]

For the record, the okra Ches tried to fry, back in the day, was canned.

And yes, the pics of it were disgustingly hilarious. I laughed 'til my eyes leaked.

I tried to get him to go for a do over, but he declined.

[War Eagle]

I challenge anyone driving the back roads of Alabama to find a mom & pop restaurant that does NOT have fried okra on their buffet line! If it's not there alongside black-eyed peas, collards, and tater-tots, one quickly questions the heritage of the proprietors and on what side of "The War of Northern Aggression" their ancestors fought. And the most popular menu items usually start with a stick of melted butter (Paula Dean style). Heart healthy - no. Loyal repeat customers - you bet.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

I challenge anyone driving the back roads of Alabama to find a mom & pop restaurant that does NOT have fried okra on their buffet line! If it's not there alongside black-eyed peas, collards, and tater-tots, one quickly questions the heritage of the proprietors and on what side of "The War of Northern Aggression" their ancestors fought. And the most popular menu items usually start with a stick of melted butter (Paula Dean style). Heart healthy - no. Loyal repeat customers - you bet.

Yep. Love fried okra and black-eyed peas. There are, however, some who would ask on which side of "The War of Southern Treachery" their ancestors fought. In either case, a lot of good people on both sides died unnecessarily, both on the battlefields and in the prison camps. Okra, incidentally, has its roots (no pun intended) in Africa.


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