June 9, 2010; July 19, 2009

June 24, 2009

I was thinking about how these kinds of meals are my favorite. So, I put together winter’s equivalent. I’m sure a much better job could be done, but given that I don’t have a winter garden, I was pleased with the flavors and colors. And also glad I wasn’t very hungry.
What would be on your plate? Maybe a boiled egg and some fermented turnips? Pickles and bread?

February 18, 2011
Christian Cheese cowboy cheddar, dried tomatoes from Mediterranean Deli, radish and arugula sprouts from my kitchen

• Okra grows best from seed, which makes it cheap. When the seedlings needed thinning, I transplanted several of them. While the transplants never got as tall as the others, they produced just as many okra pods.
• It grows in all kinds of soil, as long as there is good drainage.
• It loves the sun and heat.
• I didn’t have any problems with pests, but have been warned about aphids.
• If you plan right, it can provide shade for less heat-tolerant plants.
• Four plants will give you enough okra to enjoy right away, as well as preserve some for later.

And some trivia from the Southern Exposure seed catalog:

• Okra originated in northeast Africa.
• The word “okra” is derived from “nkru” in the Ashanti language of West Africa. The word “gumbo” is derived from “ngombo” from the Bantu language of southern Africa. The words used to be used interchangeably, but now we know “gumbo” as the Cajun dish.
• Folk uses:
  • Seeds can serve as a coffee substitute.
  • The juice has been used to stop bleeding and to clean metal.
  • The stem fibers can be used to make rough cloth or cordage.

Here’s what I did with my okra. I hope this information isn’t too late to be helpful.
We’ve eaten lots of roasted okra this summer: scatter the pods on a rimmed cookie sheet or broiling pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then broil at 450˚ for 15 minutes or so, occasionally shaking the pan to turn the pods for even cooking.

Spicy Okra Curry: cool it off with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Grilled or roasted okra with lemony-garlic yogurt sauce

Okra and green beans (recipe below), Pork & Greens English banger, sourdough bread with basil pesto and fresh goat cheese crumbles.

Okra and Green Beans
adapted from Vegetables from the “Cooking with Bon Appétit” series

3/4 pound (or so) fresh okra
3/4 pound (or so) fresh green beans
9 ounces water
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 c olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
salt and pepper

Cut stems from okra; wash pods. Wash beans and cut into lengths not exceeding 3 inches. Combine water, tomato paste, olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper in saucepan and mix well. Heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to boil. Add okra and beans and additional water if necessary to almost cover vegetables. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently until vegetables are crisp-tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Use bread to sop up the tomato sauce. Yum!

I traded Lazy Day Farm (on Seward Road, 1.5 miles east of I-35 near Guthrie) the massive amount of pots I’ve accumulated for eight pounds of tomatoes. I had no idea she was going to give me so many! I’m going to make gazpacho and salsa.

I got these neat curly tomato stakes when Nicole took me to North Haven Gardens in Dallas. I’m counting on them. Come through for me, unique tomato stakes!


The circle garden near the raised bed: strawberries and freshly planted ground cherry plants. There’s also a struggling overwintered red cabbage plant. I should put it out of its misery.


Potatoes! I’m trying Yukon gold, all blue, and yellow finn. On the far side is the lettuce patch. Sadly, they’re not doing so good. But Abbey is good. She’s such a sweetheart. She never tries to escape, unlike her mischievous sister, Chimay.

I stay organized with this spreadsheet, which helps me remember varieties and plant dates and to make better decisions next time. I’m also using it to keep track of costs, though I haven’t put a lot of effort into that yet. Maybe it will help you get organized, or maybe it will help you feel better about your own system.

“Pig brain mist” mystery concludes

The Price of Tomatoes
Related photos here. As a relatively petty aside, notice the color of the tomatoes.

Nice essay on organic food. Clean food should not be a luxury item.

An amazing 2002 article by Michael Pollan on industrial livestock: from artificial insemination to the shrink-wrapped steak. Extremely informative.

I love making pizza! I also love that Matt worked at Papa John’s for 3.5 years, so he’s a pro at rolling out the dough. We get whole wheat dough balls from Earth Elements. They are yummy and convenient. I’ve tried making my own, but it didn’t turn out so well. If you have a good recipe for whole wheat pizza dough, please share! I need to learn how to make tomato paste so that I can have a 100% Oklahoma pizza. That will be a goal for next summer.

Our most recent pizza was amazing. I added some fresh thyme and sage and a little cream to the pizza sauce. We used mushroom slices, copious amount of goat cheese, and  left-over caramelized red onions. The garlic-flavored goat cheese was freakin’ awesome, I might add. However, maybe we went a little bit overboard, or maybe it’s just that we’re not used to goat cheese, but our tummies hurt the next morning. On second thought, maybe it was too much red wine? Oh, well. I suppose it was worth it, because it’s the second-best pizza we’ve ever made. No. 1 had sausage, goat cheese, mozzarella, and pickled jalapenos and mushrooms. A flavor explosion!

Matt’s favorite pizza toppings are hamburger, mushroom, and pineapple, though we’ve never had a homemade version. My favorite toppings are caramelized onions, tomatoes, and goat cheese. Something wonderful happens to the tomato slices when they are baked on a pizza. What are your favorite toppings? And what are some good pizzerias in Oklahoma? The best pizza I’ve ever had was at my beloved Tomato in Denton, Texas. But, it’s closed (much sadness) now, so I need to find a surrogate.

Mexican midgets from the garden. These things are prolific!

Our front garden. The back garden has been overtaken by various grasses. Here in the front we have the crazy Mexican midget (one plant!), ground cherries (more info on them in the next week or so…), several types of tomatoes that aren’t producing much, strawberries, dead purslane, several types of basil, oregano, and mint.

Bouquet of basil.

Pesto about to go in the freezer.

Matt snagging a scarlet sign of summer.

So, this mad day of canning all started when bulk produce was available through the co-op. It’s so easy to get ambitious when there’s a good week before you actually receive the food. So, I added 25 pounds of imperfect peaches, 10 pounds of cooking tomatoes, and 10 pounds of green tomatoes to my online “cart.”

I consulted web sites, the canning section of my 1970s Doubleday cookbook, Edible Austin‘s pickling section, and the aforementioned web site to prepare for the can-athon. I don’t see how canning food can not take a full day. If I’m lugging out all this stuff—stuff that I don’t store in an accessible manner (jars, large pot, rack, lids)—I might as well make a day of it. So, that’s what we did. I say we because my wonderful husband kept me sane throughout the entire process. We worked in our swim suits because our a/c is out and we wanted (nay, needed) to be ready to take a dip in the pool at any moment. Don’t worry, he wore a shirt so we don’t have Matt-hairs in the jam.

So, what did we make?
13 jars of peach jam
5 jars of salsa
10 jars of pickled tomatoes

Lessons learned:

For recipes

Bulgur Mexicana
:: 2 T butter
:: 1 medium-sized onion, chopped
:: 1 c bulgur wheat
:: 1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced
:: 1/2 green or red bell pepper, seeded and diced (I omitted this)
:: 1 t chili powder
:: 3/4 t ground cumin
:: 2 1/4 c vegetable stock (I used 2 c beef stock and 1/4 c water)
:: Condiments (suggestions follow)

Melt butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and bulgur and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and bulgur is golden (7 to 8 minutes). Stir in celery, bell pepper, chili powder, and cumin and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, mound bulgur mixture on a platter or individual plates. At the table, offer condiments, each in a separate bowl. Serves 4.
Condiments: shredded cheddar, alfalfa sprouts, sliced onions, sunflower seeds, sour cream, tomatoes, and/or taco sauce.

Bulgur Supper Salad
:: 2 c water
:: 3/4 t salt
:: 1 vegetable-flavored bouillon cube (I used a couple meat cubes)
:: 1 c bulgur wheat
:: 1 jar (6 oz.) marinated artichoke hearts
:: 1 large carrot, shredded
:: 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
:: 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
:: 2 green onions (including tops), thinly sliced
:: 1/2 c chopped parsley
:: About 8 lettuce leaves
:: 3 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
:: 2 medium-size tomatoes, cut in wedges
:: 4 oz. sharp cheddar or Swiss, julienned
:: About 1/4 c pitted ripe olives
:: Mustard Dressing (recipe follows)

In a 3-quart pan, bring water, salt, and vegetable bouillon cube to boiling. Stir in bulgur. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare Mustard Dressing. Drain marinade from artichokes into dressing, mixing it well. Dice artichokes and set aside.
Turn hot cooked bulgur into a bowl, add dressing, and stir gently. Let stand until cool. Stir in artichokes, carrot, celery, green pepper, onions, and parsley. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until the next day.
Arrange lettuce on a serving platter or individual plates. Mound salad on lettuce; surround with eggs and tomatoes. Sprinkle cheese over top and garnish with olives. Makes 8 servings.
Mustard Dressing: In a bowl, combine 4 T each salad oil and lemon juice, 1 t each dry basil and oregano leaves, 1/2 t pepper, 1 clove garlic (minced or pressed), and 1 T Dijon mustard.

Both recipes came from Sunset Vegetarian Cooking (1991) cookbook.