HARVEST MONDAY! 9/20/2010

Happy Harvest Monday.

Joining in on the fun over at Daphne’s. She Hosts Harvest Monday each week where you can catch up on other peoples harvest and how they are using/saving them!

Catch her here: http://daphnesdandelions.blogspot.com/ Sorry for not hyperlinking the name, but sending my post via email today. J

This week I am finally able to add green beans back into to my harvest! WHOOT! Not pictured (yet again) are the cucumbers that seemed to have disappeared off the kitchen counter in the time it took me to finish harvesting my okra, wind up the hose and get inside. One my honey made into fridge pickles, and the other two, well I’ll give you only one guess!

The okra is finally tapering off again a bit. It’s been drier this week but moreover the larger plants are just giving up. They are well over head and have produced abundantly for me for months now. Some of you have asked how I can use all the okra I get. I do give away about a  third of my harvest. I eat fresh about a quarter and the rest is blanched and frozen. So- in the spirit of this question I decided to share one of my favorite okra recipes.

Okra fritters!

1 small onion chopped

1/3 c of creamed corn

1 small tomato

1-2lbs coarsely chopped okra

4 pkg instant grits

1/4c cornmeal

2 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for pan frying

These are all give and takes – I always make mine sticky and pretty crumbly. When frying it seems to hold together better than it should. If the grits are too dry you can add a Tablespoon of water at a time to moisten it – but don’t make it too wet!

Combine ingredients. By heaping tablespoonful, flatten into patties like mini hamburgers. Lightly fry on both sides until golden brown. Don’t deep fry unless you make them into balls like hushpuppies or they will be too dry.

The pictures don’t do them justice. The golden color of the cornmeal the hints of yellow corn, the green of the okra and red of the tomatoes really makes these pop! Wish I had taken a picture before frying as it looks like a party in a bowl!

NOTES:

*I usually sweat/saute my onions prior to making them. I don’t like raw onions, at all. This also imparts a slightly sweeter flavor to them. But, if you like the bite of onion by all means leave them raw.

*Be sure to top and tail your okr

a before attempting this. The spines and the unchewability of the tops makes for rough eating. LOL

*Grits can be plain, or cheddar. I imagine butter would work but I’ve never tried. Also, grits can be substituted entirely for corn meal and vice-versa. I just like the extra coarseness of the grits – and they cook pretty fast, too.
Enjoy!

‘Til next time.

Barbie~