Stewed Tomatoes and Okra

It's the second day of Vegan MoFo 2011 and I've got a new easy recipe for you!

Stewed Tomatoes and Okra

3 very large tomatoes, cut into 1/8ths
1 lb okra, washed, trimmed, and sliced thickly
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into medium sized pieces
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sugar
2 TB arrowroot mixed with 2 TB water
salt to taste (or use Creole Seasoning for a spicier version)


Saute the onion in 1/4 cup water until soft. Add the tomatoes. Cover and cook on med-low for about 10 minutes. Add the okra, peppers, garlic, and sugar. Cook , covered, for another 25-30 minutes. Mix in the arrowroot (mixed with water) and stir well. Cook for another 2 minutes or so, until thick. Salt to taste. Eat as is, or serve over brown rice or other grain of your choice!

The peppers, okra, and tomatoes all came from our local farmer's market! The tomatoes help to keep the okra from becoming too "slimy" (in case you are scared of the okra like I used to be).

This was the box from that market. Yes, it came with a big ol' piece of sugar cane. It does grow locally here! (so does that rice that you see) How long does sugar cane last anyway? I STILL haven't done anything with it. Could it still be good? What happens if I just peel it and put it in a food processor and use it like regular sugar? Sprinkled into my oatmeal..??

It is finally "cool" here for a few days! 73 degrees right now and perfectly sunny. It was 65 this morning. Loved it :) Do you have the typical Fall weather where you live already?

Eat smart,
T.

The OKRA Challenge

Ok people, listen up!  I have way too much okra and I'm not sure how much more I can take.  I need a good recipe.  Should use at least 1/2 lb. okra. Something healthy, preferably without the use of much oil(or butter, etc.). No deep frying, please.  And no cheese please (unless it's just a light sprinkling on top).  Ok, so I'm picky.....sorry. And of course, it must be vegetarian. :)

Here's the deal.  You come up with a great okra recipe for me and if I  pick your recipe to make (I'll blog it and put your name on it), I'll send you a copy of my recently released Bach CD.  I know, I know......who wants a classical CD????  Well, if you do, email me your recipe!  Just go to my website, click on "violist" or "photos"  and then click "email me" to send me your recipe. So if I get at least 3 recipes, the deal is on!

And so today I roasted my usual vegetables, but I added about 7 large okra to it (I had to use it somehow!).  Still a hair slimy....but it was ok.  I added Creole Seasoning to it to spice it up Cajun style.

Stay tuned for tonight's dinner: Mayan Bowl with Enchilada Sauce
Going to see Michael Moore's new movie......might be a late dinner.

Don't forget to vote in my diet poll!!

Eat smart,
T.

Today's Farmer's Market

Ok, so even though I barely slept last night, due to a sudden sore throat, I got up today to go to the farmer's market.  I really thought the sore throat was caused by the Candied Sweet Potatoes of last night.......hmmm....too much sugar????  Could that be?  Anyway, it's still sore, but not nearly as bad as last night.

On to the produce of the day: white sweet potatoes (NOT making the candied version this time), green bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, black apples, yellow squash,  popcorn rice, shiitake mushrooms, muscadine grapes, satsumas, green beans, and yes, MORE okra.

So now it's time for your suggestions......I think the okra is one of those vegetables that's gonna keep on comin'. What do I do with it now???  I need new suggestions.  I'm overloaded!  Can't keep up.

Tonight's dinner: probably potato/turnip salad (along with leftover veg. sushi from lunch).  My stomach wasn't so good today either.  Man, I hope I'm not coming down with something major......gonna go have some seltzer with lemon now.  Good for my throat too.

If I'm up to it, I'll post about dinner later.
Eat smart,
T.

Food for a Stormy Day

Yes, I made the stuffed pattypan squash again.  But, I decided to try some fried okra on the side.  Was pretty good, needed perhaps a bit more salt in the breading.

Tanya's Fried Okra:


7-8 large okra, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
3/4 cup or so of yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
creole seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle a lot of salt over the okra, then cover with cold water and let sit for an hour.  (I read about this somewhere on the internet...not exactly sure what it does).  Then drain the okra.  Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan.  Add okra to the dry ingredients, mix well.  Put okra in pan and fry about 8 minutes, before starting to flip them over.  Mix it up every couple of minutes.  You want to get it nice and brown on all sides.


Now don't forget, my amounts aren't totally exact.....hahaha......because I never write them down.  So I'm just thinking back to when I made it....."hmmmm, how much did I use??".  


And for my pre-dinner snack: Guacamole!

Tanya's Guacamole:


1 large Florida avocado, peeled and pitted
juice of 1 key lime
1/2 large tomato, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp ground cumin
cilantro, salt, pepper


Mash up the avocado.  You can leave some of it chunky if you want.  Add the lime juice and mix.  Then add the tomato, onion, and spices. Done!


(The Florida avocados tend to have fewer calories than the California ones)


And so that's the end of my post.  Tomorrow's a busy work day, not sure I'll get to any recipes.  Probably will have leftover veg. bake from yesterday.  And I didn't have to make lunch today because food magically appeared at work today, yay!  AND there was a veg. option, double yay!  Usually we can't eat it, because it all has meat in it.

So take care and come back soon!
Eat smart,
T.

The Goods, They Are Here

Ok, we're back from the farmer's market!  Here's what we got in today's share:

cucumbers, golden zucchini, pattypan squash, creole tomatoes, green bell peppers, muscadine grapes, black apples, lima beans, white turnips, white button mushrooms, satsumas, sweet potatoes, and okra.

I'm definitely going to make stuffed pattypan again.  I think I'll make a little jam out of the purple grapes, which are smaller and sweeter than the green ones.  Haven't tasted the black apples yet....they're not really black, go figure.  Hmmmm, sweet potatoes...not a big fan.  BUT, I did make a sweet potato salad once that was absolutely delicious.  Can I do that with 2 sweet potatoes??  Maybe I should add regular potatoes to make up the difference...?  Ok, we're overflowing with okra here.  I just don't know what to do.  I think I'll try some fried okra, breaded with cornmeal this time.  We still have some left over from last week!  Golden zucchini: I'm going to make zucchini bread out of it. Mushroom risotto coming up this week too, I think.  More turnip slaw?  Hmmmm, I'll do some more research about those turnips.

That's it for now.  I have to go figure out what I'm going to make for dinner now!

Eat smart,
T.

Bhindi Masala or OKRA

Hello eaters,

And for the last post of the day, I'm sharing my recipe for Bhindi Masala, which is a combination of recipes really.....I've searched and searched and took a little from each. So I guess it's not really my own, but it's nobody else's either :)

Tanya's Bhindi Masala:

8-12 medium sized okra

1 tomato, chopped

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 large can of crushed or diced tomatoes

1 Tbl olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

salt/pepper

Following spices: coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric, black mustard seeds, garam masala, crushed red pepper flakes and cajun spices (if you want it spicier)

Heat oil in pan, add cumin seeds. Stir for a couple of minutes. Add onions and ginger. Cook for a few minutes, stirring. Add the 1 fresh tomato and stir. Add some of the spices, like chili powder, turmeric, mustard seeds and coriander. Stir and cook a few minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and the "spicy" spices. Cook another couple of minutes. Cut both ends of the okra, slice lengthwise, then cut in half across. Add to the pan. Make sure the okra is covered by the sauce. Let it cook for another 8-10 minutes or so. Add salt,pepper, and garam masala. Cook a couple more minutes and it's done. Don't let the okra get mushy...it's good when it's still firm and crunchy.

Last time, I sliced the okra like a cucumber, into small pieces. I think I prefer that. So it's up to you how to cut it. I also sauteed it first last time, letting it brown, then put it aside until the very end, then added it back into the pan. Again, adjust as you need to! It's all a matter of taste.

In these pictures, it's served with red rice.

Nobody solved the breakfast bowl challenge from earlier?? Hmmm....well the first picture is quick cooking oats (my husband's breakfast). The second picture is the cooked whole oat groats (my breakfast). Which one is more nutricious? MINE! :)

I'm going to tune out now.....thanks for listening.....or reading.

Eat smart,

T.

Pattypan, pattypan, bake me a pattypan!

Today, I have no recipe for you, only a link to a recipe I found, with my minor adjustments. Remember how I had no idea how to prepare pattypan squash, which I got in my CSA box last week? Well, it's such a tasty food! So juicy and it makes the kitchen smell like cinnamon.....not sure why (I didn't add cinnamon to the recipe). It smells like Thanksgiving in here!!

Here's a link to a recipe for stuffed pattypan squash: http://mommygourmet.blogspot.com/2009/08/stuffed-pattypan-squash.html

I slightly adapted it for my own taste (and I had no feta!).

First, I put the 2 squashes in a pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Instead of feta, I used a little monterey jack. I also added a little cajun spice for some kick. And since I had okra in the fridge, I cut up some of that and added it to the skillet of tomatoes and onions.

I thank her very much for this tasty recipe. Really, if you've never had pattypan squash, now's the time! You could probably also make some sort of cinnamony, nutmegy (are those words?) filling too....would work well I bet.

Ok, I'm going to wrap up this post now. Enjoy your dinner :)

Eat smart,

T.

T goes to the farmer's market(s)

Wow, what an exciting morning! Two farmer's markets and lots of good vegetables and fruit now in my kitchen.

This is what we picked up: zucchini, lima beans, pears (yes, THOSE pears), green satsumas, creole tomatoes, brown rice, green bell peppers, white button mushrooms, okra, patty pan squash, fresh corn and cucumbers.

I have no idea what to do with: patty pan squash

Previously, we've gotten okra at the market....I made a pretty good Bhindi Masala. However, if you've never tried, they're not bad raw with a little salt! (and perhaps not so slimy when you eat it raw)

I'm excited about the lima beans because last week I came up with a great lima bean and tomato "stew" that we ate over brown rice! So I'll be sharing that recipe with you soon. I was hoping for more shiitake mushrooms, but alas......just the white button type. And it sure will be nice to have fresh raw corn this afternoon as a snack! Right off the cob.

Now I must go drink my second cup of coffee and think about today's food!

If you have a good recipe for patty pan squash, do let me know. Also, if you know what the heck I'm supposed to do with green satsumas, do tell. Do I let them ripen? Are you supposed to eat them green?? Hmmm....

Happy fooding!

Eat smart,

T.