Off the Grocery Shelves: Okra

Okra has only recently entered my repertoire, kicking off the Vegan Month of Food! But because of my new-found attachment to this vegetable, I thought it would be interesting to explore a bit further. The red okra at the community farm spurred my interest in this topic. Okra is not something one would regularly find in a supermarket produce section, not even necessarily a Whole Foods. But this pod has classically been used in Southern cooking and can be happened upon in ethnic markets.

The plant stems from the ancient region now known as Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan. In fact, the preparation in a "meal" batter as generally used in Southern cuisine hails from this Northern African center of origin.

Okra, too, has its share of exciting varieties. From the Red Burgundy's crimson pods to the Cow Horn that can reach eight feet high! Well, reaping the benefits of some pretty tall okra at the farm, on Sunday we prepped some fun okra fritters (non-vegan). These were so enticing that I decided to dig up a few a recipes to try out in the coming week:

• Fold-over corn pancakes with okra
• Okra fritters with horseradish cream
• Indian-inspired okra fritters

Down to a week left of Vegan MoFo!!