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Showing posts from September, 2010

Okra, Three Ways: Pickled, Stir-Fried, and Gumbo-ed

Something else that flourishes in hot, dry weather is okra. Though looking out my window at the moment all I see is rain and gray clouds, courtesy of tropical storm Hermine, I will pass on these delicious sounding recipes that our CSA farmer sent out. PICKLED OKRA 3 CUPS WATER 3 CUPS APPLE CIDER VINEGAR 6 TABLESPOONS SALT (PREFERABLY SEA SALT) THE ABOVE MIXTURE ARE TO BE HEATED TO A BOIL JUST BEFORE POURING OVER THE OKRA AND SPICES 1/2 TEASPOON DILL WEED PER JAR OF OKRA 1 WHOLE JALAPENO PEPPER PER JAR 1 CLOVE OF GARLIC PER JAR (SLICE GARLIC IN HALF) 1/2 TEASPOON OF MUSTARD SEED PER JAR 3 POUNDS OF OKRA PACK SPICES IN BOTTOM OF JAR PACK WHOLE OKRA IN JAR BOIL WATER, VINEGAR, AND SALT MIXTURE POUR OVER OKRA AND SPICES (FILL TO 1/2 INCH FROM TOP OF JAR CAP EACH JAR WITH THE CANNING LIDS AND PROCESS SEALED JARS IN BOILING WATER FOR 5 MINUTES LET JARS COOL AND REMOVE AND ALLOW OKRA TO MARINAT

Parmesan-Eggplant Crisps

Our current eggplant glut reminded me of this recipe from Cooking Light 2000. In fact, in looking through my four Cooking Light cookbooks' indexes for this one, I realized that there are tons of eggplant and okra recipes in these books which include everything from the magazine for each year. This one is simply delicious. Parmesan-Eggplant Crisps 1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise [didn't have any, used regular] 1 (3/4 pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 24 slices 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 12 crackers) [I didn't have any ... used breadcrumbs] 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan Cooking spray Combine crackers and cheese in a shallow dish. Spread about 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise over both sides of eggplant slices, using a rubber spatula. As you spread the mayonnaise on a side, dredge it in the cracker-cheese mixture. Place eggplant in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; chill 2 hours [I never remember to do this early enough to chill it ... it