crack the plates

I’m thrilled to report that the first week of meals have been delivered to fridges in East Atlanta, Decatur, and Midtown! Thanks so much to the three intrepid families who took a chance with the first delivery. I’m livin’ my dream – and totally couldn’t be doing it without you!

By now, you might have read, heard, or seen details about the delivery. It’s one thing to read about it – it’s another entirely to see the pictures. Here are the pictures!

All meals start with beautiful local produce. This stuff came from Sunday’s Grant Park Farmer’s Market!

Today was a pleasant day. I presented the bulletin board I made yesterday on the flooding in Pakistan at Richmond Church of the Brethren:

Though I was disheartened at the general lack of awareness of the tragedy, I was overwhelmed with support, love, prayers, and encouragement. We collected $197 towards Church World Service (a cooperative ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations, providing sustainable self-help, development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance around the world). RCoB is definitely a place where, if you have a passion, people will support you. That’s how the charitable knitting group Loops of Love got such a strong following, and how the (computer) hardware co-op got started, too. I feel blessed to be a part of such a caring, service-oriented community.

I have a tendency to belittle myself & my accomplishments. I’m simultaneously great at lifting up others even as I tear myself down: for example, just today I took someone’s attempt at giving a meaningful compliment & turned it, in two sentences, into a paean to their awesomeness. So it was good to acknowledge that, had I not put this thing together, it would have been just my little $35 going towards the food package of rice, wheat flour, beans, sugar, cooking oil, tea and salt (basics for a family for a month). But because I had the courage to invite others in, $162 (and perhaps more) was also given. I hope I have the guts to do this sort of thing again in the future.

If you’re interested in giving to help repair lives caught in perhaps the single greatest natural disaster of our time (yes, more people affected than the South-East Asian tsunami & earthquakes in Kashmir & Haiti combined), I recommend Church World Service (obvies) or Doctors Without Borders. Either of those links go directly to the gift pages.

I made some fried green tomatoes to go with a lunch of left-overs:

Nope, not much to look at.

Some vegan mac-n-cheese, topped with Daiya:

In the afternoon Nate & I played Lord of the Rings Risk on the front lawn and drank my favorite Rogue, hazelnut brown nectar. Several friends passed by; it was nice to experience the ambient people noise, as there are generally very few opportunities for that sort of thing in Richmond.

For dinner I made another bhindi with perfect little green zebras.

A little while ago we went to see Nagini, our friend Patrick’s little lady lizard. Her name is actually Kudu and she’s a blue-tongued skink.

Under Nate’s skateboard at the old apartment:

I’m still too afraid to pick her up, but I ADORE her. I bring her watermelon (a seeming favorite) at every opportunity. Patrick’s aware of my ardor; he dropped off a key with a note saying he’d be out of town for a few days and that she wouldn’t really need to be checked on, but I might appreciate the key anyway.

Risk is kind of a long game so we had to finish up just before bed. I am the Risk master; Nate didn’t stand a chance. I did so well I had to start using the other “good” color pieces. Check out this army invading northward from Osgiliath:

Enough for now!

Since the most recent move I’ve completely lost track of my camera implements–USB cord, battery charger–so I’ve been taking food pictures with Nate’s g1. It’s pretty good, but it doesn’t have a flash and you have to be super-still to get a good shot. Seeing as how I’m usually about as stable as a bag of marbles, most of ‘em don’t come out very well. But a couple did!

I found some eggplants in the fridge and decided to make baigan bharta, since I hadn’t in ages. It was great! The only downside was running out of time prior to our 7:20 showing of Scott Pilgrim vs the World, rushing out with only rhubarb soda to sustain us. Thank goodness bharta improves with a good long sit. We ate at nearly 10, greedily shoving forkfuls of mashed mad apple into our mouths as we ruminated over lost relationships. Probably would have been a lot more depressing without the baigan. Definitely.

Yesterday I made my old standby, bhindi masala. I’m almost out of amchoor powder, and since I sadly won’t be making it to the Dekalb Farmer’s Market anytime soon, I ordered from Chicago’s spice house. Only they lost my order, and now I’ll probably be out before it gets to me! I can’t win at anything.

This bhindi was possibly the best ever because of the addition of heirloom Green Zebra tomatoes from earlham’s Farm and Jan & Dan’s Arden Hearth garden. I am now addicted to green zebras and bought almost five pounds at the market today to use in everything.

We’re still getting settled into this gorgeous new house. The best part is watching the cats explore the place. They’re both mighty curious. One late night, while unpacking about 10,000lbs of textiles, Perl decided to climb into the closet. Adorableness ensued:

Oh, herro.

Whaa, you is working? I are in your way?

I are good cat, for once. Goodbye!

I had my friend Donnie over for dinner last night. A great cook in his own right, he keeps a blog at http://blackveganism.blogspot.com/ and promises to start updating again soon. (In the meantime, get caught up on his back issues!) It was the first time we’d managed to get together this summer, so I wanted to do something nice. Tofu or tempeh, he said. My planned tofu dish (the Grit’s mock chicken salad) took much too much time, so I settled on an as-yet-untried Veganomicon recipe for cornmeal-crusted tofu. Paired with organic mashed potatoes and creamy spicy-sweet corn pudding, it was perfect:

Donnie was happy, and in the end, that’s what matters:

Oh! I guess I should also mention that I made the sauce topping the encrusted tofu. That’s actually a home-made vegan chipotle mayo. The chipotles in adobo came from a can, but the mayo was home-made for a tempeh chick’n salad from last week. Recipe courtesy Bryanna Clark Grogan, it incorporated dry mustard, apple cider vinegar, and AGAR-AGAR! Check it out here. I just thoroughly mashed about a half a cup with two largeish chipotles for a tangy cream accompaniment.

Tonight I just made plain ol’ bhindi masala, which you’ve already seen on this blog a million times. The highlight of my day (which was by anyone’s count a pretty damn good one) occurred around 9pm, when I walked out the front door to see my friend Jabani zooming past on his bike. Jabani! I called to him; My Secretary! he joyfully replied. (Long story short, I’m our church office manager.) He’s been out of town recently, and in that time, our mutual friend Matt informed me that OKRA is one of most beloved foods. So I rushed up to him and in, what must have sounded like very garbled English, declared that I had made something special for dinner and wanted to share leftovers with him.

You should have seen his face when I emerged with a huge container of bhindi masala. Taking note of the okra, the tomatoes, the onion, the color, and the general stewed texture, he pronounced it “a real Nigerian recipe” and gave me the best hug I’d had in a while. (He is Nigerian, and while my recipe is Indian-ish, it is rather similar to this one.) It needs some salt, I cautioned. He vowed to spice it up.

Now I can’t wait to cook for him again, and with fresh, in-season, local okra!

Let’s get this embarrassing fact out of the way: my bf & I are the kind of saccharinely sweet couple that celebrates monthly anniversaries. Groan, right? Well, generally the “celebration” just means a slight uptick in cooing at each other & maybe a vegan chocolate or two, but every once in a while we mix it up & do something interesting. As in the case of tonight’s dinner:

or

that’s

• organic vegan mashed potatoes (unsweetened soymilk, earth balance, salt, & freshly cracked black pepper)
• bhindi masala: okra with cayenne, ground mango powder, turmeric & tomato
• kitchen-sink homemade barbeque sauce (a slight adjustment to Isa’s recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance, featuring blackstrap molasses, peanut butter, liquid smoke, tabasco, maple syrup, vidalia onion, and tomato) simmered long & slow and poured over thrice-baked tofu

In return, he drew pictures for me of one of my most favorite things EVER! Goombas. Yanno, dese guys:

In other news, I used a paint-brush to line my eyes with some electric teal with blue sheen eyeshadow in an attempt to achieve this look. I actually did a pretty good job! Now we’re probably gonna go raid the free kids’ section of the movie gallery. Hurrah!

A surprisingly confessional & somewhat depressing post. Hold on to your hats.

Several reasons we should have dinner together:

Veggie cashew tom yum curry, shared with friends Lindsey & Chris.

My plate, close-up.

Indian feast, shared with friends Kelly & Chris.

Sweet roasted root vegetables and bhindi masala, enjoyed with friend Dave.

Dinner plate:

When I lived in Atlanta (particularly post-undergrad) my favorite thing to do was throw a dinner party & have lots of friends over. It’s almost unreasonable how effortless it was to send out a mass text or quick e-mail and, just a few hours later, be greeted by a half dozen or more of my favorite people. So many of my best memories revolve around food: like the time I prepared a full-on Mediterranean-style mezze meal for my best friend Jina that featured hand-stuffed vegan dolmades (grape leaves; not to mention tabouli, baba ghanoush, hummus, and more). Or the time my ex & I slaved in a hot June kitchen putting together possibly the most overblown Southern meal of my life–collards, cornbreads, chick’n fried tofu smothered in gravy, skillet corn, fried okra, fried squash…the list goes on. Or the year “Christmas” to my nearest & dearest meant a lavish Indian-style meal served in courses on pillows in the gorgeous condo where I was house-sitting at the time. Not to mention the fact that more than a couple of friends chose to introduce me to their newest sig ot over a shared dinner. Preparing food together is a great way to get to know someone, and it’s always fun to gossip about a new beau’s knife-skills (or lack thereof) later.

Make no mistake: these things happened on a weekly basis. Despite being busy employees (of art magazines, non-profits, hospitals, restaurants, and major research universities; third-shift included) and grad students, we made time for one another. Sure, I was often the catalyst, providing the welcoming home and the good food, but folks showed an interest. They showed up.

I grieve for the fact that, here in Richmond, it has not been so easy. My friends are often so perennially over-scheduled that I seem to have to start checking dates or soliciting for these ridiculous doodle polls weeks in advance. We lack a culture of breezy stop-ins and drop-bys…regrettably, the few times I’ve bucked the trend and just gone for it, it’s been a little hairy. (Not that anyone’s ever been inhospitable–but the surprise showed.) Our buzzword is, tragically, “busy”–but for what? Unprogrammed time, unregimented schedules, & spontaneous fun are in perilously short supply. Why? Is anyone happier for it? I know I’m not. At the risk of being overly confessional, I recently posted several pictures from happy days/meals past on my wall to remind me of gentler times…and to give me hope that one day I’ll be having those great parties again.

And there are glimmers of hope. Recently a friend stopped by, totally unexpected, and we ended up having a joyful hour-long conversation over tea. I wasn’t even recovered yet from a recent illness, but her presence filled me with energy and life. I know that now is not, with 32 packed days left til my Master’s thesis is turned in, a particularly auspicious time to start throwing dinner parties…or even encouraging all of my friends to show up at the doorstep anytime they please. But I do plan on continuing to cultivate an open, hospitable spirit, such that when these 32 days have been conquered I can apply myself with renewed vigor to friendship-building through food. Perhaps in so doing I’ll slowly be able to loosen my vice-grip on past memories, dear as they are.

But I can’t do this without you. We’ve gotta build this together.

A necessary post-script: Thanks to those who are already doing it, who inspire me, who’ve made time for dinner and meaningful conversation. You are the reason this post has pictures. :)

Bhindi (okra) is one of my most-loved vegetables, but it is a seasonal favorite whose availability further varies by location. In the southern US, I’ve mentioned before, you can find it fresh in grocery stores mostly year-round, but dismal demand in the midwest renders its delivery spotty even in summertime–and impossible during winter. I was floored to find it fresh in the waning summer Saturdays at our local farmer’s market, buying up at least a couple pounds each morning it was available. (And subsequently offered my tips toward choosing fresh okra here.) I mostly used it in bhindi masala, trying variations on Tara Shetty’s outstanding recipe. Here’s what it looks like with fresh okra and fresh tomatoes:

In despicably inhospitable climes I’ve been forced to consort with bagged frozen okra. Desperate measure, but I’m managing. Our local Kroger sells the whole frozen okra essential to this dish–pre-sliced just doesn’t, ahem, cut it. The former’s slime factor helps the spicy sauce cling to the vegetable better, evenly distributing the flavors. All I do is steam the okra and, once it has cooled, chop it lengthwise and continue with the recipe. Instead of using two chopped tomatoes (& paying a fortune for pinkish hot-house grown monsters), I simply use one 14.5oz can of organic chopped tomatoes (unsalted if possible). The results? Not too bad! Two separate occasions:

January bhindi

February bhindi

PS. I recently (VERY MISTAKENLY) adjusted some unfamiliar setting on my camera and am mostly taking gloomy-looking pictures as a result. Hopefully getting that figured out soon.

Do you love Indian food? Do you love cheap Indian food? Are you a Richmonder (or other rural friend) who loathes driving at least a half an hour to eat decent Indian food? Do you like saving money? Do you care about per meal costs?

If any of these questions resonate with you at all, I encourage you to stop reading this blog post and head to patelbrothersusa.com to take full advantage of their super sale on SWAD micro curries. Scroll down to the bottom of this Super Sale page and check out the list of microwaveable meals at .99 cents each. All our vegan favorites are there: baigan bharta, bhindi masala, aloo mutter, channa masala! (Other offerings include dal makhani, dal tadka (probably vegan; a simple dal), dhingri mutter, methi mutter (peas and fenugreek in a creamy sauce), mutter paneer, navratan korma (vegetables and pineapple in a very-dairy sauce), several paneer dishes, pav bhaji (contains butter), peas pulav (peas and rice–likely vegan), shahi rajma (red beans in tomato sauce–maybe vegan), and vegetable biryani (possibly vegan).)

I didn’t want to blog about the order that I placed with patelbrothersusa.com until I had successfully received it, but now that it’s been here a few days and we’ve tried our stuff, I can recommend it with utmost confidence. Though the recipes are dissimilar from the ones I use, they are nonetheless quite tasty. The baigan bharta–”roasted eggplant in tomato and onion sauce”–is smoky, creamy deliciousness with discernable vegetables (despite its being a MRE) and not a lot of fat or calories. The bhindi masala–”okra in exotic mild curry sauce” –is not nearly as a good as mine, but it is plenty delicious. Only two downsides: it has a lot of fat, so you’ll need to split it with your sweetie or split it between meals; the texture of the bhindi is also lost in the processing. Small worries, though! The channa masala is comforting and filling in a very bright sauce; the aloo mutter is solid, a satisfying lunch over some rice on a snowy day.

Now look–patelbrothersusa.com is a pretty, shall we say, bootleg-looking site. It sports an early 2000s aesthetic with more than a couple broken product links. I’m not going to lie–I was a little dubious about my first order with them, but I went ahead and made it because I am familiar with the chain and know that their Flushing-area store is extremely popular. (Just google for reviews). And you know, I’m so glad I didn’t let the look of the website deter me, because N & I ended up getting a ton of delicious meals for $1.15 each with shipping.

Two nights ago we had a regular feast–onion naan, basmati rice, bhindi masala, baigan bharta, and aloo mutter. Thanks to patelbrothers.com, we food coma’ed ourselves for a little over $5! $5!! The spread:

I’d serve this stuff to company.

Psst: if you’re feeling rich, pick up a bag on onion naan on the site for $3.99/10 pieces. (bottom right hand corner). It’s yummy warmed in the oven for about five minutes and features whole cumin seeds and other spices that give it a divine flavor.

Not only do you save money, but as I mentioned in my post from a few days ago, you save time. These micro curries take 2 minutes in the microwave or 5 minutes on the stove top in boiling water. And it’s enough food that if you just pair one of them with some rice you’ve got a complete satisfying meal for well under $2.

Better still, there’s nothing crazy in these MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) packages, crazy as MRE packaging itself is. Cases in point:

• ingredients, bhindi masala: okra, onion, vegetable oil, tomato paste, spices (cardamom, cumin, clove, black pepper, white pepper), garlic, salt, coriander leaves, turmeric powder, red chili, coriander powder.)
• baingan bharta: eggplant, onion, tomato paste, vegetable oil, green peas, tomato, green chilies, salt, cilantro, coriander powder, cumin, garlic
• chana masala: chick peas, onion, palmolein oil, tomato, cilantro leaves, salt, chili powder, green chili powder, spices (turmeric powder, cumin, coriander powder, garlic, black pepper, chili, cassia, clove, cardamom, star anise, fennel, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, caraway).
• aloo mutter: potato, onion, green peas, vegetable oil, garlic paste, cilantro, tomato paste, ginger paste, dry red chilies, salt, coriander powder, green chilies, turmeric powder, cumin, bay leaves.

….Why are you still reading this!? Go to Patel Brothers now and order some tasty cheap Indian food! This sale isn’t going to last long. In fact,  it’s already gone off & come back again: I hesitated so long about making my first order that things went back to regular price–and I had to e-mail the owners to see if they might put them on sale again. Well, they did–so take it advantage of it! Seriously, you can thank me later.

Much peace & happy eating, friends.

Since I didn’t attempt anything awesome in the kitchen today, I’m cheating and doing Whoa Wren’s VeganMoFo2009 survey.

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?

N & I drink Kroger’s Naturally Preferred Organic Red Box Plain soymilk pretty much exclusively. It’s organic, tastes great, and costs $5.00 a gallon (regular price $2.50/half gallon). With Silk climbing as high as $3.89/half gallon in this area, it’s the most economical.

NOTE: We love soymilk so much that, upon being asked at a job interview what he’d do with two million dollars, N said he’d secure a lifetime supply of the stuff for us. (To be fair, that was the “selfish answer”; he also answered magnanimously.)

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?

Kale creations, bhindi masala, baked winter squash (or spaghetti squash concoctions).

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?

The master recipe is thus: stove-top-popped corn with about a tablespoon of melted earth balance drizzled over it, then tossed, then drenched in Bragg’s aminos from the spray bottle, then tossed, then tossed with white pepper, then tossed with about a third a cup of nutritional yeast. It is so good, sometimes we eat this as a meal…because just thinking about it makes us crave it unbearably…okay, I’m pretty sure that I’ll soon be typing with nutritional yeast breath.

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

Devastatingly, I recently F-ed up two desserts in one night. Sigh.

5. Favorite pickled item?

Okra! And, you know, boring old cucumbers.

6. How do you organize your recipes?

The cookbooks are on shelves under the microwave. The printed-out collection resides messily in a structurally-unsound plastic folder-type thing. I also love to tape recipes to cabinets so that I can read them easily while working.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?

Compost. Thanks to our landlords, we have a super composter.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

1) Stevia, because I’m addicted to it, but since it probably doesn’t count as a food per se I’ll name three more 2) Onions 3) Mushrooms 4) Watermelon

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

My mom’s cabbage; my dad’s everything-in-the-cupboards vegan vegetable soups; any of the insane birthday cakes mom designed and ordered for me. She did not mess around with the cake.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?

(guest written by N): Purely Decadent COOKIE AVALANCHE by SO DELICIOUS/Turtle Mountain

One cannot understand the Avalanche of Cookies without appreciating the taxonomy and characteristics of the manner of things one can find in such an Avalanche.

Surely, one does best when one encounters a veritable King Cookie (gendered bias intentional) in the course of Avalanche consumption. To qualify as Kingly, this nugget of wonder must be of sufficient size; say, approaching roughly half the size of a double stuffed oreo. Such a joyous event happens only about once per carton (so buy several cartons at once).

Princely cookies, thus, are chunks of delicious that are only about a quarter the size of a double stuffed oreo. These are still noble finds and a lucky consumer should enjoy three or four of them per carton.

We suggest giving your Avalanche lots of attention; excavate it carefully by digging in your spoon and flipping over big hunks to seek Kings and Princes jutting out. Then gently carve out the findings and enjoy.

Truly, you will discover that the thrill of cookie archaeology makes the Avalanche the most compelling and fabulous of all vegan ice cream delights.

–N

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?

this one bowl that is perfect for containing things made with the hand mixer. Okay, not actually an appliance, but it facilitates an appliance!

12. Spice/herb you would die without?

I use a lot of salt, thyme, tumeric, coriander and cumin.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

I grew up with my mom’s Southern Living Annuals. Of my own, probably Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider. I wish everyone could have a copy of this insanely expensive but gorgeous book.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Black raspberry from the Amish

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

The GRIT’s vegan chicken salad (featuring GRIT yeast gravy & GRIT viniagrette)…it went over tremendously at a fourth of july get-together. Or anything smothered in GRIT gravy.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

I love seitan (especially Isa’s recipes!!) when I can get it, but I mostly cook with TVP from dixie diner and tofu.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

time: when I’m not hungry.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

10 boxes of Kashi cereal (Richmond Kroger is closing ‘em out at $2 a BOX!!); two bicycle helmets; a pair of bicycle gloves; two rolls of unbleached recycled paper towels; dust bunnies

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

Uhm, not to brag, but I can name basically every item in my freezer without looking. There’s a pound of quinoa, two pounds of Bob’s Red Mill vital wheat gluten, wheat flour, six quart freezer bags of whole raspberries from Michigan, several pounds of butter beans, a bag of Recipe Beginnings peppers, lots of dried Frontier herbs, a 6-lb block of SoyBoy tofu, two loaves of banana nut bread, blueberries from Monica’s great-grandparents’ house in PA, two boxes of Boca burgers, some homemade veggie burgers, bread flour, sesame seeds, frozen peas…the list goes on. Hm, now that I think about it, it’s actually kind of embarrassing to have all that food stored up. Good thing I’ve planned November’s blogging project to be eat-from-the-cupboards!

20. What’s on your grocery list?

I went shopping yesterday and today; yield: Mori-Nu tofu, granola bars, organic olive oil, organic water-packed extra-firm tofu, cereal, soymilk, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, pickles, veggie burgers, and mustards.

21. Favorite grocery store?

Not too many alternative choices in Richmond. I love our Co-op, but it’s currently in transition and closed. Nature’s Nook is good for hard-to-find ingredients, but not really food. Meijer has a great fresh organic section but it also uses old-fashioned open freezer cases and for that reason I routinely boycott them. Embarrasingly, Kroger is really my BFF. Cheap soymilk, tofu, a decent natural foods section and tons of good manager’s specials.

In Atlanta: Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market & the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market!

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

ANGEL FOOD CAKE. I purchased Bryanna Clark Grogan’s recipe but I haven’t taken the time to make it yet. Maybe this month…?!?!

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?

Probably Kittee’s because she encouraged me in this whole VeganMoFo thing. And Bryanna’s Vegan Feast Kitchen. To be honest, I’m still finding my way in the vegan blogging community.

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Catbar by Endangered Species chocolates; coconut marshmallows by Sweet & Sara. Ritter Sport marzipan.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

The aforementioned 6 freezer bags of Michigan raspberries I brought back from the visit with Jiji.

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?

xantham gum, especially after Kittee’s post about it.

THE END

One of my favorite quick meals that tastes like it took ages to make is bhindi masala. “Bhindi” is the Hindi word for ladyfinger AKA okra, and masala, as you probably already know, simply means warm spices. I use a superior pre-ground organic blend that I ordered through our local co-op from Frontier.

As a quick aside, I’ve found that it is much easier to find reliable indian recipes on google if one searches using Hindi rather than the english equivalents. (Check out this glossary for some ideas.) That’s how I found my favorite bhindi masala recipe, located here at Tara Shetty’s long-abandoned blogspot. Here’s a picture of tonight’s dinner:

Since I’ve already linked to the recipe, let me use my space here to counsel you all on selecting okra. Yes, I know it is almost out-of-season, so just keep this in mind for next year…unless of course you live in the glorious southern USA states, where it is available fresh in supermarkets year-round.

I grew up in the south–northwest Georgia, for those who don’t know–and I watched my parents grow okra, helped ‘em harvest it, and now plant my own. And so I learned early on, from my maternal grandmother, I think, how to pick okra. In the US and abroad, okra is also called “lady’s finger” or ladyfinger for short.

F-ed up gender & body notions aside, consider that some of the folks who first started calling it “ladyfinger” were likely the people who harvested it in the field. Most of us are so divorced from the growing processes of our food these days that we forget that it comes from farmers who have their own notions about the world and their own intimate connection with their plants. These farmers may have tagged the okra “lady’s finger” because okra tastes best when it is picked at about two inches in length, i.e, about the length of an average woman’s pinky finger. Allowed to grow much longer, the seeds get tremendous and the texture woody–only good for a heavily stewed gumbo, if that.

For best flavor, okra should be picked when it is young and tender. Both genders can judge a good piece of okra at the market by holding it up against the little finger. If it’s much longer, throw it back–it’ll be dry, woody, and the seeds, pearls. If it’s smaller, bag it and find its friends!