Roasted Okra

Roasted Okra (not a fancy pants recipe but more of a process)

Ingredients:
Fresh Okra
Olive Oil
Salt
Cracked black pepper
OR whatever your preferred seasonings are . . .

Tools:
oven
cookie sheet
non-stick foil
tongs
spatula/egg turner
hot pads for your hands

Well, I like Okra, but I don't like to fry in a house with a 1930's kitchen without an exhaust fan, so I roast my Okra. (Yes, "Okra" with a capital "O" because I respect and love my Okra).

Here's what I do:
- Choose my Okra carefully at the Farmer's Market, usually getting that smallish Okra about the size of my ring finger or little finger. And, I get the green velvet Okra - yes, I like my Okra fuzzy. I take it home and introduce it to my kitchen.

- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees; line a cookie sheet with non-stick foil; tear off a piece of foil for a cover for the cookie sheet.

- Put the Okra in a large mixing bowl (maybe with other vegetables such as potatoes and red bell peppers just so it won't get lonely) and drizzle it with oil and season to taste. Toss it all with your hands to get everything evenly covered. Wash your hands.

- Dump the Okra onto the foil lined cookie sheet and spread everything out until it's only one layer. Cover tightly with the other sheet of foil. Place in oven and set timer for 20 minutes.

- When the timer goes off, take the covered pan out of the oven and shut the oven door. Remove the top foil lid (you are through with this sheet of foil unless you know there is a good chance the person you will be eating with will be late coming home to eat - then you will need it later). Use your tongs to turn over every Okra ( or vegetable) piece on the pan. Put the pan back in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.

- At 12 minutes, because you can't wait for 15 and you don't want to look at your timer any more, take the pan out of the oven, turn the oven off, and serve your Okra immediately. Unless your dining partner is late, and then you will cover it with that other piece of foil, and eat it after it gets slightly soggy and coolish - but it will be tasty. Yum.

TEA

A water infusion, we drink tea cold AND over ice in the south. Though Summer the heat has not subsided. Mom recently shared a recipe for Ginger tea and Mary Anna has urged me to post it. I also make tea quite a bit for the kids and I recently learned an easy technique from an Italian mother of three. She calls it "Mint Water" and all you do is put a mint teabag in a water jug and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Its amazingly refreshing and easy! A nice departure from fridge water. Here is the recipe Mom gave me and another I came up with:


Iced Green Tea Elixir with Ginger & Lemon

It tastes a little fruity and sweet — but not at all cloying. The flavor of this tea is perfectly balanced. Gingery spice that lingers and warms the throat, fresh tannins of green tea, bright lemon and... a secret ingredient that adds fruity, sour notes: Pomegranate syrup.

Yes, you will need pomegranate syrup (also known as pomegranate molasses) for this recipe. Here's a little more on pomegranate molasses — it is easily found at Mediterranean and Middle Eastern markets. I really love it; it is a wonderful ingredient to have on hand for syrups, marinades, and drinks; its concentrated flavor is a powerful asset in the kitchen.

Make sure, though, to buy pomegranate syrup without any added sugar or sweeteners. It should just be concentrated pomegranate juice, boiled down to syrup. Again, this should be easy to find; my local Mediterranean market had three or four brands to choose from.

makes 3 quarts

1/4 ounce good quality Chinese green tea leaves
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1/4 cup pomegranate syrup or pomegranate molasses, without any added sweeteners (available at middle eastern markets)
3/4 cup ginger syrup, recipe below
Mint, to garnish
Lemon slices, to garnish
Pomegranate seeds, to garnish

Place the tea leaves in a large bowl. Heat 3 1/2 cups of water to about 170°F. (Or bring to a boil, then let cool for 5 minutes.) Pour the hot water over the green tea leaves and steep the tea for 5 minutes. Strain the tea, keeping the liquid and discarding the leaves.

Stir in the lemon juice, pomegranate syrup and ginger syrup. Add 8 cups of cold water. Stir. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Serve over ice with a lemon slice and fresh pomegranate seeds, or a handful of muddled mint.

Ginger Syrup
makes about 5 cups

1/2 pound fresh ginger root, skin on
3 cups white sugar
2 cups water

Cut the ginger into knuckle-sized pieces. Buzz the ginger in a food processor or chopper until it is fine and stringy, like rough wood chips.

Add the sugar and water to a large saucepan and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Simmer just until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the chopped ginger. Let the pot cool on the stove, then put it in the fridge to steep overnight.

The next day, strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve at least twice, to remove the finer bits of ginger. Discard the ginger. Pour the syrup into a bottle or closed container and refrigerate. This syrup will keep for several weeks at least, as long as it is refrigerated.

Optional: Try this tea in a bourbon cocktail — incredibly good. Shake up 1 ounce bourbon with 4 ounces iced tea and a handful of mint. Strain and serve over ice with lemon.

Jamaica-Mint Tea
I first had Jamaica drink at a taqueria while attending San Antonio College at the urging of Mary Virginia. I love it's deep fuchsia color and tart flavor, similar to that of pomegranate. While pregnant with Orion in 2009 I visited my childhood friend, Courtney Czar, in Tucson, AZ. She took me to a tiny foodie cafe, only open during the winter months. There they served a new iteration of my favorite drink: Jamaica Mint Tea. I then set out to make my own.

1 1/2 cup dried jamaica (available at Mexican markets) 1 cup fresh mint leaves, whole 1/2 cup sugar 2 qt Pour quarts of boiling water into a container with jamaica, mint and sugar and let sit for 10 minutes, strain and add ice. Look for more information about the jamaica flower here.

I know there are more of you who have great ideas and recipes for summertime, cold drinks. Please share!

Mango Sorbet

I made up this recipe while trying to figure out what to do with the abundance of mangos from our five trees.

1 cup Simple Syrup, cooled

2 cups diced ripe mangos (riper the better)

Juice of 9 key limes (or to taste)

Thumb-sized piece of Ginger, chunked with skin on

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend till they're pureed. Add more lime juice if it needs more "bite."

Put in a sorbet maker and make. If you don't have a maker, put it in a covered plastic food container in the freezer and shake or stir every 15 minutes or so until it hardens.

Potato Pierogies

I was first introduced to pierogi when I moved to Kansas City to go to college. I learned to make them while spending Christmases at the Sindelar's house in Kentucky. Grandma Kaminski taught Dave how to make them as a child but now its mostly the women who sit around and chat while making this somewhat laborious but very fulfilling traditional Polish Christmas dish. Pierogi are essentially a ravioli made with potato dough. In addition to potato and cheese you can also stuff them with sauerkraut, plum paste, and just about anything mixed with potato. The recipe is Martha Stewart's mother's and is a good base to work from.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 5 pounds (about 10 medium) baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 ounces cheddar cheese, (about 1/2 cup), grated
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal

Directions

1. Make the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk egg. Add sour cream, and whisk until smooth. Add milk and 1 cup water, and whisk until combined. Slowly add about 3 cups flour, and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

2. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and work in about 1 cup flour as you knead. Use a plastic scraper to lift dough as it will stick to the counter before flour is worked in. Continue kneading for 8 to 10 minutes, working in another 1/2 cup flour. The dough should be elastic in texture and no longer sticky. Be careful not to add too much flour, as this will toughen dough. Place dough in a lightly floured bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let rest while you prepare filling.

3. Make the filling: Place potatoes in a large pot, and cover with cold water. Add salt. Place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Cook until fork-tender. Drain and mash with a potato masher. Add 4 tablespoons melted butter and the cheeses, and continue to mash until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place a large pot of salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil. Lay a clean linen towel on your counter, and evenly distribute cornmeal on it to prevent sticking.

4. On a floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Using a glass or cookie cutter measuring 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out as many circles as possible. Gather dough scraps together, rolling them out again, and continue cutting.

5. Form filling into 1 1/2-inch balls, and place a ball in the center of each dough circle. Holding a circle in your hand, fold dough over filling, and pinch the edges, forming a well-sealed crescent. Transfer to linen towel. Continue this process until all dough circles are filled.

6. Place pierogi in boiling water in batches. They will sink to the bottom of the pot and then rise to the top. Once they rise, let them cook for about a minute more. Meanwhile, drizzle platter with remaining 8 tablespoons melted butter. Remove pierogi from pot, and transfer to platter to prevent sticking. Serve immediately.

** You can also brown the pierogi in butter for a more interesting texture.
** To freeze lay pierogi on a pan in the freezer until they are hard and then putting them in a bag.