Jim Inman's (jinman) Garden - 2007

[TBDonnelly]

Had some special visitors drop by the 'yarden' this evening. They didn't care to much for lettuce and tomatoes however, they did break bread and partake in some liquid refreshment. They wanted us to see their new set of twins.

Don

After thought......

Hmm..."Taste" and "Buds" T-shirts...sounds like a possibility. Would you have to get ones for the wives that said, "Yumm" and "Ummm"?
Taste-Buds for the guy's. Another possibility for the gals: Vocal-Chords

 

[jinman]

Had some special visitors drop by the 'yarden' this evening. They didn't care to much for lettuce and tomatoes however, they did break bread and partake in some liquid refreshment. They wanted us to see their new set of twins.

Or maybe they came for the Drakes batter. How often do you see swans?


It's been very hot here this week. They say maybe 103 by this weekend. That makes pickin' peas a hot job if we don't do it early in the morning. Here is a photo of a couple of messes of peas, purple hulls and blackeyes.

 

[TBDonnelly]

Or maybe they came for the Drakes batter. How often do you see swans?

Swans show on a very irregular basis. There's a large colony of swan's that nest about 7 miles west of here. I tend to think swans land here when they're migrating. We've seen an influx of Mallard's and Geese this past week. The geese have only been "migrating" from yard to yard . We usually see an influx when the birds are migrating North or South. It's a little early for them to be migrating south, at least I hope so . It's still in the high eighties and low nineties. Maybe they already have snow in Vermont ?

I was getting a picture of the Swan's. I inadvertently picked up the 'not so welcome' group in the neighbors yard across the way.

Don

 

[TBDonnelly]

It's all about Okra & the lone Cowboy. Back on 07/10(post number 143) the lone Cowboy just fit under the Okra Canopy. Now, the Okra has really grown up!

Did you ever notice the beautiful flower the Okra plant puts out?

Don

 

[Bird]

Don, have you ever tried just eating the raw pods of okra? I love fried okra and pickled okra, and even like a little stewed okra now and then, but I used to have a secretary who carried her lunch to work and she frequently included just plain raw fresh pods of okra, so naturally, I had to try it; not bad, but not good enough for me to try it again.

 

[Tdog]

Bird - - yuk. Raw? Gotta admit I never tried it, but I know what okra tastes like when it is not quite done. Your secretary is tougher than I am.

BTW, does anyone have an okra & tomato recipe? That's not my favorite way to have okra, but I have enough of each frozen that I thought I'd try it.

Jack

 

[Bird]

Jack, I think I'd just about as soon have the okra raw as to have it cooked with tomatoes. As much as I love raw tomatoes, salsa, and even tomato sauce, I've just never cared much for cooked or hot tomatoes. How many remember when it seemed that all banquet dinners included a half a tomato baked with parmesan cheese on it? I always ate them to see if I could develop a taste for them, but never did.

 

[TBDonnelly]

Don, have you ever tried just eating the raw pods of okra?

Well..............today,

I harvested,

I envisioned Euel Gibbons ,

then, I ate the raw okra pod.


Would not recommend it.
Of course, if I was Bear Grills of 'Man vs.wild', I'd say, "Not bad".

Don

 

[Bird]

That's great, Don. I said it wasn't good enough to try again.

 

[jinman]

Well..............today,

I harvested,

I envisioned Euel Gibbons ,

then, I ate the raw okra pod.


Would not recommend it.
Of course, if I was Bear Grills of 'Man vs.wild', I'd say, "Not bad".

Don

Let Donny try it. He'll eat anything...

No, I never ate raw okra. It's too darn fuzzy for my texture sensitive tongue. Besides, I normally have to wear gloves when picking it to keep my hands from itching. That just doesn't encourage me to munch.

The okra bloom sure is pretty. Last year I posted a picture of one in my garden thread and asked if anyone could identify it. I don't remember who did, but it didn't take long. It was like the $100 dollar question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"

You don't have a big patch of okra, Don. I only have about half of what I planted left. I keep thinking I'll take a picture of the disease that kills my mature plants, but I haven't done it yet. Even with all the dying plants, we still get lots of okra. It loves hot weather and it is plenty hot here now.

Tdog: I can't believe you are asking for an okra and tomato recipe. You are in the middle of Cajun country where gumbo is more common than mashed tators. Is that what you are talking about? My wife makes a great gumbo that only has veggies. I personally never met a bowl of gumbo I didn't like. Here's a recipe I googled up that can be cooked without fish or meat. It also lists how you can add meat at the bottom.

Ingredients:
6-8 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1# frozen cut okra (or use fresh if available in your area)
2 28-oz cans whole or sliced tomatoes
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
file powder (optional)

Seafood: 1# shrimp, cleaned and deveined, 1# firm fillets (such as sole, cod, roughy), 1/2# crabmeat... or whatever is available
OR... use a couple pounds of boneless chicken

Directions:
Cook the bacon in a large pot. Remove, crumble, and set aside. Leave about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pot, and saute onion, garlic, pepper and okra. The okra will get nice and gooey, serving as thickening agent for the gumbo. Add tomatoes, seasoning and the cooked bacon. Simmer, covered, for at least a half hour, but can cook a couple hours.

Add seafood or chicken and cook until done. Add file powder if you want a thicker stew. Serve over rice.