Okra...the only way my family can actually eat it.

Okra is an interesting vegetable. Our southern family grows it, fries it up dusted in cornmeal and calls it dinner. My husband, bless his heart, is opposed to even this traditional offering of okra. He is totally turned off by the slimy texture that persists even with the frying. So when we got a bag of fresh okra in our CSA I was a little afraid.

I drop off a CSA for friends, and while we were assessing our weekly haul I voiced my concern. She looked up at me without batting an eyelash and said. "Easy, Just cook it with tomatoes. It is the best!" I was very skeptical.
It just so happened that there were tomatoes also in the CSA box this week, so I tried it.

OH MAN! It was great! The fresh okra has a fantastic texture. It is crunchy and sweet, and the addition of tomatoes does eliminate the slime. I added onions, garlic and Greek olives. It was perfect, and yes...Keith ate some. His review was: "It's OK, I would not eat it every day, but it's OK." VICTORY!!

Okra with Tomatoes:

Ingredients:

4 cups of sliced Okra
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion sliced
2 garlic cloves minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
4 plumb tomatoes diced
1/2 cup pitted Greek olives

Directions:

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot add oil and onions. Season with salt and pepper. When the onions are almost translucent add the garlic, pepper flakes and okra. Continue to cook for 3 minutes. Keep stirring so the garlic does not burn.

2. Add the tomatoes to the pan. Stir and bring mixture up to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Stir in olives a few minutes before you serve.