Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Fun and games with Okra

Mystery green that I forgot the name of so I can look it up

First off I am begging you to tell me what green this is. I went to a farm today and thought it would be fun to try out this new green. On the sign it said something about curry and I swore to myself that I would remember the name of what this is. Since my attention span is not as good as I would like to think it is I forgot the name. All I keep thinking in my head is "Miswa". When I go to look that up on google it is a noodle. Please tell me if you know what this green is and what I should do with it.

Indian mecca in the middle of nowhere

I went to a new Indian market today. The name of the market is Patel's and it is in Shrewsbury. I wanted to weep when I walked in and saw this market in the middle of "ethnic food wasteland". If you are looking for an amazing Indian market check it out

Patel Brothers,
405 Boston Turnpike,
Shrewsbury, MA 01545

Market

I swear I could have spent the day in there if I weren't getting dirty looks, so I bought 3lbs of okra and they were having a deal on incense so I bought a 12 pack of Lemongrass stuff. Oh, and I also almost bought a brick of brown sugar that was wrapped in burlap but I thought it might throw Dr Food over the edge (I am sure that the incense won't go over that big since I still have a kilo of Nag Champa which is a whole other story).

So the story is that Dr. Food's uncle gave me a recipe when I was in Texas. It was for Dr. Food's favorite pickled okra. I swore to uncle that I would make it for Dr Food. So there you have it. Enter okra

Okra

I also promised another Texan guy some of these

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Uncle Ralph's Pickled Okra

3lbs uncut and washed young okra
Celery leaves
6 small hot red peppers
Cloves of garlic
Large heads of dill and stems or 1/2 tsp dill seed per pint
1 qt water
1 pint white vinegar
1/2 C salt

Pack okra into hot pint jars (boil jars just as you would with any canning) with a few celery leaves, pod of pepper, clove of garlic and head of dill or dill seed in each jar.

Make brine of water, vinegar and salt. Heat to boiling. Pour over okra.

Process in boiling water bath by placing in a large kettle of boiling water to which a little cold water (about one cup) has been added to lower the temperature only slightly.

The kettle should have a rack to hold the jars off the bottom and be deep enough for the water to come over the jars one to two inches with a remaining head space of one to two inches. It should also have a tight fitting lid.

Process the okra for 20 minutes. Start to count processing time as soon as hot jars are placed in actively boiling water.

Remove jars and place on a rack to cool out of a draft. The next day after processing, remove rings. Wash and dry jars and store in cool place.

NOTE: The okra will be shriveled immediatel after removal from the water bath, but after several days will absorb the liquid and become plump once again.

So after all the okra stuff I made injera for my two favorite little kids.

Injera

Now I don't feel like cooking dinner. Maybe I can con Dr. Food into going for some sushi.

7 comments :

  1. I love okra pickles. I hope you saved some to fry!

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  2. Greetings Janis, I just stumbled on your blog, and I like the looks of it. Lots of photos and lots of good tips. I can tell you actually cook what you talk about, and it will pay off to keep an eye on you.

    Thanks for the effort you put into this.

    Dave

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  3. yummy...orka pickles...mmmmmmmmm...

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  4. ok, now i'm jealous you have an Indian market "near" you. Mine is a 50 mile roundtrip drive to Cotati. It's a tiny place next to an Asian "massage" parlor.

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  5. think that plant might be shiso. Take a look
    http://www.namayasai.co.uk/Shiso/Shiso.htm

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  6. I love your blog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  7. I love okra pickles. I hope you saved some to fry!

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