Fried Okra

We decided in the spring that we wanted a garden this year, and now almost 6 months later we are eating the fruits of our labor.  The okra is what is producing the best out of all that we planted, and we are loving it!  We aren't big on the gooey kind that you can stew with tomatoes.  We eat it fried every time and this is my favorite recipe to use.  It is so quick and easy.  At least once a week I go cut some okra out of our garden and immediately bring it into the kitchen to rinse it, cut it, and cook it.  Fresh okra is the best!  I literally pop these in my mouth like candy.  Here's a picture of our four year old (Camille) checking on our peppers.  The okra is the tall plant in the upper right corner of the picture.  The kids get so excited when we are eating food out of our garden.

Ingredients:

okra (about 10)

1 cup flour

1 cup white cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups milk

3/4 cup oil

Directions:

1.  Rinse okra and cut into 1 inch pieces, discarding ends.

2.  Heat oil in pan on stovetop on medium high heat.

3. Let okra pieces soak in a bowl of milk about 2 minutes.

4. Put okra pieces in flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper mixture and stir gently to coat. 

5.  Put coated okra pieces in hot oil and cook about 10 minutes or until slightly brown.

6.  Transfer to paper towel covered plate to soak up any excess oil and sprinkle with salt while still warm.

7.  Serve immediately.

And while you're at it, throw some cut up green tomatoes in the same milk and flour mixture and cook in the hot oil after the okra.