Okra

It's well into okra season here. I tried to grow my own, but I think I put them in too late; I have zero okra from my garden so far. (I do have one flower, though, so I may get something by the end of the season.) Around here, though, there is generally someone selling it by the pound at this time of year.

Last year, I planned to put some up, but never got around to it. This year, I wasn't certain how much I needed, so I ordered 20 pounds from a guy a couple of miles down the road, at 85 cents a pound. It turns out that 20 pounds makes only about 8 quarts of stewed okra (I use onions, but not tomatoes). Unfortunately, when I went to pick up my okra, the guy said that he was not selling any more, as he had so many orders he was not sure there would be enough okra left for himself. So I may be sol for getting more; I'll have to call around and see if anyone else with a sign out has some left.

Here is my last pot of okra, just starting to be stewed. It's a bit lighter than I am used to; the guy I bought it from claims that his grandmother brought it to this area from Milton, and his family has been planting it for 80 years.



(I'd like to pretend that the okra is what made my stove so messy, but it always looks like that)