I was thinking about school today and how much my thoughts and perceptions have changed. A string of binary numbers used to imply staying up late with copious amounts of coffee flowing in my system, programming — typing and compiling code and sometimes screaming when faced with null pointer exceptions. Binary used to allude to all that is technical.
Today I thought about binary numbers and I thought okra! Oh, this charming vegetable that seems to have only two sets of followers: those who admire it and those who shiver just hearing the name okra whispered.
Photo Credit: Flickr: 189::365 okra by j.e.n.n.y
Naturally I knew what had to be done: I had to get some okra! I found some fresh ones at my local grocery store and chopped 1 pound of okra as similarly shown in the picture above.
Read about okra on-line and you’ll find information regarding okra’s slimy texture is abound. It is true that when in contact with water okra will become a bit slimy and sticky. But it also can be fried, in which case it can be crunchy!
So I cut the fresh okra, and fry it in hot oil with green onions. I would have used white onions but as we have already established, I’m in a quest to become Mary Boulton-like and so have been going to Farmers Markets. Needless to say, green onions have become regular tenants in my fridge.
At last these are the ingredients that I combined in my frying pan:
1 pound okra
3-4 green onions
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper (as much as you like)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1/4 cup frozen whole cranberries
Lately I’ve been enjoying cranberries in my concoctions. They add an extra zing of taste, but also look so brightly red and beautiful. While frying was being done, I also cut some pieces off my left-over steak from a couple of nights ago, and added everything together over a bed of orzo.
Suddenly the okra was in harmony with the rest of the dish and I was thinking: what else can I do with okra? But I’m going to be patient because the rhubarb that’s been sitting on my counter waiting to be put in a pie is now starting to give me dirty looks.
So I’m going to try and keep in mind that Rome wasn’t built in a day and that I will find non-slippy sharp-tasting recipes worthy of the charm of the okra in time.
Do you have any okra recipes to share with me?
Side note:
Also if you are a geek like me and want to know how you can convert words into binary code, maybe you’d like to check out this site?
http://www.theproblemsite.com/codes/binary.asp