Simply Southern Okra and Tomatoes

This recipe is one that is kind of hard for me to make because I do NOT like okra.  I wish I did but I cannot get past the sliminess (is that even a word) of it!  Okay...let me back up...I will eat it fried!  However, that is not really saying much...I think I would eat just about anything fried!!

I have lived in the south all my life but I had never made okra and tomatoes until several years ago.  My daughter Holly was probably 10 or 12 years old  and had went over to her friend, Natalie's, house.  Natalie's mom, Kelly,  is one of my very best friends and has been ever since we were in Junior High School.

Natalie, Kelly, Me (Janna), and Holly

She is a fantastic cook and that day she was making Okra and Tomatoes.  Low and behold, Holly loved them.  Do you know how excited I was to learn that my child loved a vegetable.? (rhetorical question)   I had to get busy learning how to make okra and tomatoes....so I paid Kelly to share her recipe with me.  Justtttt kidddding...she very sweetly showed me how to make them. 

I went to the local Farmer's Market in Beaumont this past weekend and picked up some fresh okra to use but if you do not have any fresh, you can always use frozen.  I made them tonight along with grilled corn on the cob....and my sister-in-law, Judy, made meatloaf (not just your ordinary meatloaf, it had a special sauce...yummm), mashed potatoes, crowder peas, and cornbread muffins.  It was a true down South, clean your plate, kind of meal! 

Here's the recipe...it is super easy and quick to make!!

SIMPLY SOUTHERN OKRA AND TOMATOES

1 Bag (16 ounces) frozen, chopped okra

OR

fresh, chopped okra

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 medium poblano pepper or bell pepper, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1 can Rotel Tomatoes

1 can Petite diced Tomatoes

2 cups of Vegetable Broth

1 teaspoon sugar

(I think some worcestershire sauce would be tasty in this)

Saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft. 

Add okra and saute to incorporate flavors.  

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Add your Rotel and Petite Diced Tomatoes

Pour in the Vegetable Broth

Add approximately 1 teaspoon of sugar to cut the tartness of the tomatoes. Cover.

Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.  

And voila...it is ready to eat!

The other day, when I went to the Farmer's Market, I went with my friends Nita and Phyllis.

Nita, Phyllis and Myself

Phyllis bought some of the okra like I did and when she got home she made Okra and Tomatoes but she served it over rice as a one-dish meal.  She sent me a picture of it below...how yummy does that look?

However you decide to serve it...remember okra has so many health benefits such as being rich in fiber, vitamin A, C and K.  It is also a good source of minerals such as iron, magnesium, manganese, and calcium.  Likewise, tomatoes are abundantly healthy because they contain Lycopene.   Lycopene  flushes out free radicals which cause cancer.  Tomatoes also prevent heart disease and high cholesterol.  

Healthy and Tasty....Great Combination!!

ENJOY!

Giada's Fusili Pasta with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

Emily, Janna, Giada, Judy, Holly

Last year for my birthday, my husband surprised me with the best gift ever!  He somehow managed to find out about a cooking show in Atlanta, Georgia featuring some of my favorite chefs, and he arranged for me (bright pink shirt), my daughter Holly (far right), my sister-in-law Judy (in the pink sweater), and her daughter Emily (far left) to spend the weekend meeting Giada and Paula Deen, getting to see and sample some awesome new products, and eat some amazing food (oink-oink)!

I LOVE Giada!  She was very down-to-earth, so nice to talk to and absolutely beautiful!  Before I left for Atlanta, I printed out her recipe for Fusili Pasta.  It is one of my go-to dishes when I am running short on time.  She was so sweet to sign it for me and I framed it with the above picture and it is hanging in my kitchen.  In fact, tonight I didn't want to look up the recipe so I just used the framed recipe on the wall instead!

I had a two-fold reason for cooking this dish tonight.  -First of all, I still have tomatoes that I do not want to waste!  Secondly, I wanted to cook something fast!  

Martha Stewart Collection

This pot is one of my favorites in the kitchen.  It is  heavy, porcelain covered cast-iron.  For the longest I wanted a Le Creuset but they are pretty expensive so I kept putting off getting one.  Then I found this red pot by Martha Stewart at Macys for under $80.  I use it for so many things...chili, beans, soups, pasta, etc.  It cleans up  really easy too!

So here is the recipe.  I have changed it just a little because of wanting to use ingredients I had on hand.



FUSILI PASTA WITH SPINACH AND ASIAGO CHEESE

12 ounces of fusili or rotini pasta

1/4 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

9 ounce bag of spinach, rough chopped

12 ounces of chopped cherry tomatoes

1 cup of Asiago Cheese, grated 

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, add water for pasta and alot of kosher salt (2 or 3 tablespoons ~ I just guess).  the pasta will absorb the salt in the water so be careful when adding more to the dish.  Follow the directions on the bag or box for pasta.  Remember to not overcook the pasta.  It is better to undercook because the pasta will cook a little more when you add it to the rest of the ingredients.

Add garlic to oil and saute just to flavor the oil, approximately 2 minutes.

I like to use equal amounts of these two olive oils in this dish

Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until spinach begins to wilt.

Add the cooked pasta and toss!

Add your cheeses....

You can use this or.....

you can use a mixture like this...grated is better though!

I added some pine nuts because I thought it would go nicely with this dish (and I love a reason to eat pine nuts)!

Transfer pasta to a serving dish

Make some garlic bread ...... 

1 loaf of french bread

1 stick of butter, softened

6-8 cloves of garlic, minced

Combine butter and garlic and spread on both sides of each slice of bread.

Broil under a broiler until golden brown on both sides.

OH MY GOSH....it is the bomb!!

*A salad and/or some lightly breaded, pan fried chicken tenders would go well with this.

We were just wanting something quick to fix and eat so we wouldn't have to pick up take-out!

BON APPETITO Y'ALL!!

Texas Homemade Salsa

Fresh Salsa

I love summertime and all the fresh fruit and veggies that come with this time of year.  Some friends gave me fresh tomatoes out of their garden!   Let me just say there is no comparison between a grocery store tomato and one that comes straight out of the garden.  I have had vegetable gardens before (not for a while though) and I would love going out and seeing what is growing and getting to pick and prepare something that I grew myself....so satisfying and it always tastes better.  I miss not having a garden but the past few years with the kids in college and buying some land out of town, we find ourselves on the road a lot and a garden requires daily attention.  I am so thankful for friends who share their gift of gardening and "pickings" with me!

This weekend I decided that I better do something with all these tomatoes before they go bad and tried my hand at Fresh Salsa.  I have made salsa for years but with canned tomatoes.  We live in Texas, home of Tex-Mex, and salsa is a pretty frequent staple at our home.  We put it on everything!!  It took a couple of hours to tweak it and get just the right blend of flavors.  But finally, after 20 garlic cloves (and breath that required several arms distance away from anyone I wanted to talk to), I think I found a keeper....the final product.  Hope you enjoy it and try your hand at it.  The health benefits alone are worth it.  It is full of antioxidants!  My friend, Nita, told me that the cilantro in it pulls heavy metals, such as mercury, out of your body!  Who knew?!?!  Try it with chips, on fish tacos, scrambled eggs, dressing for taco salad, or mixed with black beans.  Let me know what you think and how you used it!

Fresh Salsa

10 - Tomatoes, medium-size (about the size of a tennis ball)
  1 - Sweet Onion (about the size of a baseball or a little larger)
  1 - Jalapeno, large
  1 - Bell Pepper or Poblano Pepper, medium size
20 - Garlic Cloves (yes 20 it is not a typo)
1/3- Bunch of fresh Cilantro
1/2-1 teaspoon  Ground Cumin
Salt to taste
Juice of fresh Lime to your liking

Make a small slit in tomato skin.  Drop tomatoes in boiling water for about 1-2 minutes or until you see skin draw apart where the slit was made.  Remove tomatoes from water and place in ice water to stop cooking process.  Remove skins and set aside.

In a food processor, add other ingredients, except tomatoes, until you get the consistency you want.  I did not want a chunky salsa so I pureed them.  Add tomatoes and pulse until all is combined.  Add salt and lime juice to your liking. Enjoy!