Red Velvet Okra

Time to pick the okra. Okra grows fast -- if you don't pick at least every other day, the pods get too large and become woody rather than tender.

Like this.

The flowers are lovely, hinting at okra's kinship with hibiscus flowers -- and cotton. Okra (hibiscus esculentus) is thought to have originated in Africa -- both the word okra, as well as the word gumbo can be traced back to African languages.

This is a nice size -- it would be lovely steamed and buttered. Many folks (not me) object to okra's mucilaginous quality and prefer it cut up, rolled in cornmeal, and fried or used as a component of soup, okra and tomatoes, or gumbo.

It's an excellent thickener for soups (and in my opinion preferable to the rabbit droppings that some Native Americans are said to have used for thickening.)

Green okra is the norm but I couldn't resist the picture on the Red Velvet Okra seed packet. These pods are beauties and even the ones that I allowed to get too big will be fine in soup.

Sad to say, once blanched. the lovely red changes to a dull green. It' s the same with purple asparagus, cauliflower, beans . . .

Our family nickname for okra . . .