Comcast Update and Okra

While Jason was dealing with Comcast’s shenanigans* on Saturday I was off at our local farmers’ market reveling in the bounty of late summer and early fall. In addition to the eggplant, tomatoes, and garlic I used to make Sunday Dinner, my shopping list also included apples for my lunch. As I was pursuing the rest of the market, my interest was sparked by the abundance of okra I saw at many of the stands.

True to my Southern roots, I am a fan of this odd little vegetable (well, actually it is a fruit), but I generally like it fried or in soups and stews. Although I’ve never tried cooking it myself, I decided to take some home and give it a try. I generally don’t fry things at home (too messy and I hate the way it makes the apartment smell) so I looked for other types of okra recipes. I ended up settling on one for Okra, Corn, and Tomatoes from Serious Eats (another Dinner Tonight recipe—surprise, surprise!). In addition to the titular ingredients, this recipe also included onions, curry and a little brown sugar. The resulting flavor was sweet and smoky—the perfect accompaniment for pan-roasted fish.  I’d highly recommend this dish—you could even serve it over rice for a hearty and delicious vegetarian dish.

One note about cooking okra—it has a bad reputation for becoming slimy. The key is to avoiding this is to try not to wash it if at all possible (or if you do make sure that you dry each individual piece very carefully). I was able to avoid washing because my farmers’ market okra came with a “no pesticides” guarantee.

*Comcast update: We never did get the call from the supervisor as promised (shocker!) so Jason ended up calling back later that day. The person he spoke to this time was somewhat more helpful and was able to lower our rates. We’re staying for now but are seriously considering trying something new so.... stay tuned!

Okra, Corn, and Tomatoes
Adapted slightly from Serious Eats

Ingredients:
2 TBL butter
½ cups onion, finely chopped
1 pound okra, stems removed and chopped
2 ½ cups tomatoes, chopped
1 cob of corn, kernels removed
¼ teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoon brown sugar
Salt and pepper

1.Melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent.
2.Add okra and cook for 5 minutes. Add all the ingredients except the corn. Cover the pan and simmer until okra is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
3.Toss in the corn and cook for another minute or two. Salt and pepper to taste.