We picked our first harvest of okra yesterday ... 12 ounces! How exciting!
I didn't realize how quickly the pods grow and think I waited a little bit too long to harvest some of it. You are supposed to harvest okra when it is 2 or 3 inches long and some of ours were more like 4 or 5 inches. No worries though, it all tasted the same and the larger pods weren't tough or woody.
Of course, I neglected to heed the advice I'd been given for harvesting okra ... I did not wear gloves. It seemed to be alright though - I didn't have any skin irritation by touching the okra leaf "spines". We'll see if my apparent resistance to okra spine irritation continues through the rest of the summer, or if it was just dumb luck.
I have a feeling it was just dumb luck.
Anyway, once okra starts producing, it needs frequent harvesting. It grows quickly and should be harvested every other day. It is considered a "cut and come again" crop - so, the more you harvest, the more it will continue to grow and produce. That's my kind of plant!
Cooking Okra
I had no idea how to cook okra. I'm originally from Pennsylvania and didn't grow up eating okra, so I was pretty clueless about how to cook or prepare it. Now that I'm a Southerner, I figured I'd better get up to speed, and quick!
So, a little research revealed that okra can be boiled, fried, grilled, pickled, and eaten raw. It can be cut, sliced, stuffed, and eaten whole.
Apparently, okra is very versatile!
I've seen recipes where the okra is filled with cheese, battered and deep fried (that recipe sounds particular yummy!), added to casseroles, soups, stews, and salads, or formed into fritters or added to other batters. I am hoping that I'll have so much okra through the rest of the summer that I'll be able to experiment with all kinds of different and fancy recipes.
For our first harvest, though, we wanted to fully experience the taste and texture of freshly picked okra without clouding it with other ingredients. So, we simply cut it into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces, parboiled and then sauteed it in a little butter.
It was quick & easy and it tasted good! And it wasn't the slightest bit slimy.
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