Monday Morning Mirth
The crock pot festival continues here at Chez Chic! This weekend’s glorious cauldron was a gumbo-y hot mess, full of chicken, the creole holy trinity, one polish sausage link, tomatoes and what you see above…
At the grocery store, three clerks knew not its fame (nor cared) when I pleaded with them to find it. As I wandered about, a manager came to find me and showed me with great pride, a jar full of pickled ones, not good for what I was seeking but FABULOUS with Zapp’s Cajun Dill potato chips. I ended up finding these in the freezer section.
Name this vegetable, neglected and forlorn, scorned by many, loved by me — it cooked down into a fine flavorsome merge with the rest of the pot and added an nice thickening to the stew.
While you’re at it, name your favorite, but neglected vegetable…
That would be okra.
The only reason I’m in the anti-okra club is because of its stringy nature and neck surgery years back make it hard for me to eat it.
Does crockpotting it take away that quality?
Okra, of course. I am not a fan, mostly because I’m from the nawth and we just don’t have it up here. Though I have had authentic gumbo in NOLA, and of course it was in there, and I lovvvvved the gumbo. I just couldn’t tell what the okra added to it, and I don’t even know what its flavor is. Does it HAVE a flavor?!
My favorite neglected vegetable is parsnips.
Okra…. can’t say that I have ever tried it but I do know what it looks like!
That’s okra. I love it in Gumbo! I agree with Norma–my favorite neglected vegetable is parsnips. They are great roasted.
I can’t even say the word “okra” around my partner. He gets this. . . face. It’s the “that’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard of” face.
I like okra, myself, but I don’t really eat it just because it’s not worth it to have to see The Face.
Yep okra. The last time I bought okra it was for the goo that it produces — to use in papermaking.
That’s okra, of course, and I love to eat it stuffed with spices, the way my Indian friend Asha prepares it. My favorite neglected vegetable is celeriac, grated in a salad,or cooked in a stew , or mashed with carrots and potatoes, or any old way.
Yup. That be okra. You got me last week, but not this;-D
I love okra. The only way I know to get it fresh in Chicago is at the farmers’ markets. And I’m going to agree with Regina, that celeriac (aka celery root) is my also my favorite neglected vegetable — I mash with potatoes & rutabaga, and include it in borsch and beef stew.
Julie
Fried Okra might just be my favorite forgotten Veggie. But then I’m also fond of things like Bok Choy, Daikon and Jerusalem Artichoke.
Okra of course!
BB, who grew up in the sort-of South.
Okra, and I love pickled okra and okra in gumbo. my mom was from the south and we did all things green, though she would often cook it until it was brown, but that’s another story. My favorite vegetable, no longer as neglected, is kale. LOVE IT!
Okra, great in stews and soups….
Rutabaga and kohlrabi two lovely, but neglected veggies. (We eat kohlrabi raw in salads!)
Hurray Okra. So funny to see it here because I was just chatting over dinner last night with my dinner companions that needed to get back to Honey 1 on Western to get some pulled pork sandwiches and fried okra again soon.
I agree about parsnips – so good.
Of course that’s okra. Here’s my favorite thing to do with fresh okra. Cut the stem end off and stick the remaining pod on your forehead. Instant rhino.
Okra, of course, gooey, gummy okra. One of my favorite vegs is kohlrabi.
I love to eat it raw. It’s nice and crunchy with a bit of bite. It adds flavor to vegetable soups and I’ve used it in stir-fries. Yum!
Okra. My favorite neglected veggie: parsnips.
Yummy, yummy slimy okra. My Texan grandmother used to make the most *heavenly* fried okra — she’d slice it and dip it in a bit of cornmeal, then fry till it was golden brown. Okay, I’m salivating at the memory. And, of course, a good okra is one of the basic food groups; after living in New Orleans for several years, I must say that I prefer okra gumbo to filé gumbo any day of the week. But I also love it any other way you want to cook it. Thanks, Grandmother, for the great food memories!
Okra, boiled not fried, YUCK, to slippery, might be my least fave!!
Okra of couse. Very difficult to find fresh but it is usually in the freezer section. I only like it in gumbo-by itself it’s kind of like mucous! haven’t tried it fried.
It’s okra, of course!
Bonne Marie, I shared your childhood horror of the lima beans in mixed veg (a canned monstrosity called “Veg-All” was the version served in our house), but as I’ve gotten to be all grown up and have cooked my own from frozen, I’ve found that they can be wonderful. The tricks are:
1. Buy “baby” frozen lima beans.
2. Add just a smal amount of water.
3. Microwave until cooked thoroughly but still green and and just a bit al dente – not mushy. (Mushy happens a lot with the dried version, and I’m not a fan of those.)
4. Add salt, freshly ground pepper, a little lemon, and butter.
Give one bag a try and I’ll bet you’ll be really angry about what they did to all of those innocent limas from our childhood! ;)
Vicki Stammer
Okra, of course. Dad groes it every year, a variety that is red but turns green when cooked.
I’m with Vicki about the lima beans. I love them with butter and salt! Also love the parsnip in dishes chickeny, like pot pie and soup.
Okra will continued to be neglected by me! The veggie I loved as a child and still love as an adult is the artichoke. I especially love topping my salads with some marinated artichokes.
Okra, of course! And that would be my favorite neglected vegetable! I LOVE it fried with a drizzle of hot sauce but also use it in stews a lot. Yum!!
Okra. I saw fresh ones in the grocery store yesterday!
It is quite popular in some regions of the world. I think the people from North Africa brought it to the Israeli cuisine. I don’t like the texture.
I like the small smooth cucumbers that are really everywhere in Israel but hard to find in Arizona.
That’s okra. I love it fried. My unloved vegetable would be rutabaga or brussel sprouts. I love both but lots of others dislike them heartily.
My daughter has been addicted to pickled okra since she was 5. I myself love the lima bean and the brussel sprout.
okra. Very good breaded and deep fried. With a side of ranch dressing.
Beets are my favorite of the neglected vegetables.
I honestly don’t get what all the Okra hate is about. The way my mom makes it, it’s got an amazing texture. But then again, we eat the weird stuff. :)
Okra to be sure. I love it in vegetable soup! What’s not to love!
Okra, of course! (This makes me think I need to cook up some Jambalaya! I have a lonely Polish sausage in the freezer—not a good substitute for Italian sausage in the holiday turkey stuffing recipe :) —along with some leftover shrimp boil from a graduation party this summer…sounds like a good start anyway!)
Why, that’s a little bowl of okra. I love fennel and use it often alone or with other root veggies.
Okra of course! I like it in things too. . . I am a fan of greens (kale, etc) which seem to often be ignored. Cooked with a little vinegar, is how my mom made them. Yummm
Forever Okra was my least favorite veggie on earth, till I was caught off guard and the Korean ladies in the work cafe served me something with a pod on top. I said “Oh, I don’t eat chilis” and they said, it’s not a chili. I bit into it, it was tasty and loved it, even after I found out it was my dreaded veggie…
I’m a crockpot nut too. Of late, since my husband lost his job and our budget is very thin, I have been crockpotting and then morphing the left overs to a new meal altogether… I started a new blog that I share my experience… www DOTcookingonashoestringDOTwordpressDOTcom if you are interested. I’m always looking for other good stuff and would love to try your gumbo…. sharing your recipe????
oh, forgot to add “Favorite but neglected”…. Cauliflower …. love it!
Okra – fresh from the garden – sliced into tiny little wagon wheels, corn mealed, and given a quick dip in hot oil! It’s better than popcorn!! My husband fixes it and it never makes it to the dinner table with the main part of the meal – it all gets popped into mouths almost before it’s safely cooled!
My favorite “unsung” veggie? I love Brussel Sprouts, roasted with olive oil, shallots and bacon. BUT – you have to eat them hot, as soon as they cool a bit, they start getting bitter.
Oh yes, Okra — It’s not neglected, but my favorite vegetable is fresh asparagus in season. When I was a kid, my mother used to walk alongside ditch-banks (we lived in the country) cutting asparagus. Yum!
It looks like okra to me. I’m partial to brussel sprouts, but don’t manage to make them very often. Maybe I’ll get some soon (if they are in stock) and have some this week!
Okra is slimy and nasty!
I love cauliflower, but rarely make it. I don’t know why. I think I’ll make some for dinner tonight.
Okra. Yum. But, butternut squash is my favorite. Followed closely by brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes.
Well of course it’s okra. I used to have a photo of my grandma standing in front of a field of it! It’s an acquired taste but essential in gumbo I agree.
Okra would be the veggie, but fried is the way to go unless making gumbo. It’s a southern girls potato chip! Would love some right now. Growing up in Texas but the child of Yankees, made these an acquired taste. But, oh so good with a down home BBQ.
My favorite veggie is butternut squash too, but roasted in soup.
Okra.
*twitch*
I’e tried. I’ve had a few aficionados give me what they claimed was stellar okra.
I can’t d it.
OKRA! It would be one of my favorites. I also love turnips which don’t seem to be very popular.
It’s okra, Baby, and I love mine breaded and fried. Yum! I’m also partial to hominy and rutabagas. Give me vegetables over fruits any day!
Okra girl! I don’t work in Atlanta for nothing!
My fave neglected veg is red cabbage as my momma makes it. Yum!
That would be okra. The dried pods are great in a flower arrangement or lightly sprayed gold or silver in a tall vase. My favorite neglected veggie would be kolrabi. Yummo with gobs of butta, salt and peppa!
Okra and well… okra. try it grilled sometime. mmmmm….
Okra, oh yum! It was almost impossible to find in the SF Bay area, but the influx of Indian workers has made it much more widely available at Farmer’s Markets and such. Pickled, fried, even dried – Simple Foods has a freeze-dried version that it better than potato chips – or roasted with olive oil, pepper, salt and an herb of your choosing (oregano, usually).
As James Dickey wrote: To have eaten okra is to have supped with the gods.
Favorite neglected veggie? turnips, parsnips, kale, chard, black-eyed peas, beets…love me some veggies!