OKRA GOOD!

You might think that okra is a vegetable but it is actually a flowering plant from the mallow family. Known as ladies fingers (a translation of the Igbo - spoken in Nigeria), okra is grown in tropical areas and it is actually the seed pod of the plant which, when picked young, is used as a vegetable.

Although okra is used in eastern Mediterranean and Arab countries, usually in stews and in the USA, breaded and fried, it is in Indian cuisine that it is best known. Called bhindi in Hindi, ladies fingers should be about the size of the ring finger of a small woman; any larger and they will be too tough and hairy to use.

Okra is very versatile and can be stuffed, steamed, curried and fried, but here are a few suggestions for tasty dishes.

Fried Okra

Serves 4 as a side dish

300g okra, cut into pieces
1 medium onion, finely sliced
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp garam masala
2 green chillies, split
Lemon juice
Salt

Heat the oil and fry the onion over a medium heat until lightly browned. Add all the powdered spices and continue frying for a couple of minutes. Add the okra, lemon juice and salt to taste. Mix well, cover and cook for another five minutes until the okra is cooked but still firm.


Okra Curry

Serves 4 as a main or 6-8 as a side dish

500g okra, cut into 2cm pieces
500g potatoes
4 tomatoes, chopped
3 onions chopped
25g root ginger
2 cloves garlic
3 green chillies, halved
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp oil for frying
Salt

Peel the potatoes and either par boil and cut into 2cm dice, or leave raw and cut to about 1cm by 2cm.

Peel the root ginger and the garlic and make into a paste with a little water. You can use a small food processor or just elbow grease and a pestle and mortar if you prefer.

Heat the oil in a heavy pan and add the cumin seeds. Have a lid handy as these may spit. Add the onions, the green chillies, the garlic and ginger paste and fry until the onions are lightly browned. Add the tomatoes, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, potatoes and ladies fingers, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are done.

Crispy Okra

Serves 6-8 people as a side dish

Oil for frying
500g okra, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 small onion
2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp chaat masala (see spice mix below)
Lemon juice
Salt
A large bunch of coriander leaves

To make the chaat masala dry roast 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 small dried red chilli,1 tbsp cumin seeds and 2 tbsp black pepper corns. Grind to a powder and mix with 1 tbsp dried mango powder. Store in a small airtight jar.

Deep fry the okra in small batches until crisp and drain on kitchen paper. Toss with the onion, tomato and coriander leaves. Squeeze over the lemon juice and season to taste with the chaat masala spice mix and salt.

Old Timey Turkey Dressing

Now that I've posted several articles, I thought I should get back to adding my family's famous secret recipes. This is on of the truly great dishes to be served with the special dinners at Christmas or Thanksgiving. It's easy to prepare and very good. As a matter of fact, it's down right GOOD!

Old Timey Turkey Dressing

1 turkey, or baking hen 2 T. poultry seasoning, rounded
4 breakfast biscuits 1-2 T. sage, rounded
4 slices of bread 1 T. black pepper
1 10-inch skillet of cornbread 1/2 tsp. celery seed
2 cups celery, chopped 3 boiled eggs, diced
2 cups onions, chopped 1 stick margarine
2 T. salt, level

Bake or boil turkey, save liquid for recipe. Put celery and onion in pan with enough water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. In large bowl put all bread and add onions and celery in liquid, add butter, and enough stock from boiled turkey to make consistency of uncooked cornbread. If you have no biscuits, sub. with 4 slices of bread. Add seasonings; stir well. Add eggs and stir gently. Bake 30 minutes at 450 degrees. Opt: remove from the bone and add to dressing before baking. Serve warm with your meal.

Uncle Jim

You talk about good, you don't know what's good.

Ready? Here is another great one just for you.

Mystery Meat Loaf

1 lb. ground beef 2 T. mustard
2 slices bread 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg 1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 sm. onion chopped Mystery ingredients
1/8 c. chopped green pepper


Mix all ingredients in bowl, except mystery ingredients, and shape into loaf. Place in a pan that allows 2" clearance on all sides. Place meat loaf in pan, top with mystery ingredients, and add enough water to fill pan 1/2 inch. Bake at 350 degrees until firm, about 45 minutes. Mystery ingredients inc: Cereal mix, grape nuts, golden mushroom soup, etc. Serve when cooled.

Uncle Chip

All your friends will not believe what they are tasting. Only you will know the mystery! Jaw dropping good eating for everyone. Gotta try this one for sure!! this recipe is great for unexpected guests as well as for the family dinner.

A Few Cooking Guides and Tips

People want to eat healthy foods today, and a good way to accomplish that is through poultry. There are some chicken cooking tips that can help you in the kitchen and protect your family as well.

Here are a few of the best chicken cooking tips available.

• You must take care to always wash your hands, knife, and cutting board in hot soapy water after preparing raw poultry.

• You should never use the same utensils and cutting board for other ingredients without thoroughly washing them first and after use. This prevents cross contamination.

• You should always marinate poultry in the refrigerator. Never leave it out in the open.

• Do not use the poultry marinade for basting.

• If the marinade is to be used for the basis of a sauce, bring it to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

• Never put cooked poultry on the same plate that was used to transport raw poultry. Again, this prevents cross contamination.

Here are some chicken cooking tips for storing your poultry:

• Fresh poultry is a very perishable food. You should not leave it out in the open air. Instead, wrap it in plastic as soon as you get it home from the store and always store it in the coldest part of your refrigerator. You should use it within two days; if this is not possible, place it in a freezer bag and freeze for up to three months. You should always freeze giblets and livers separately from the whole bird.

• Cooked poultry dishes can be frozen. However, you should not freeze poultry dishes that contain mayonnaise or hard-boiled eggs.

• Allow small poultry dishes to cool completely before wrapping and freezing them. Allow larger items to cool in the refrigerator and then wrap airtight and freeze.

• You should never freeze stuffed poultry.

Some of the most important chicken cooking tips involve proper thawing of the bird.

It is especially important that the poultry be properly thawed before cooking. Allow it to thaw in the refrigerator while it is in the original wrapper. You can place it on a tray to catch any drips that may fall as it thaws. When thawing in the refrigerator is not possible because there is not enough time, there are two other alternatives. For rapid thawing, you can put the bird in watertight wrapping and then submerge in cold water. You should change the water frequently as this will help quicken the process. Smaller birds require about one to two hours.

The other alternative is to leave the bird in its wrapper and put it into a heavy paper grocery bag. Close up the bag and put it into a cool room. You will need to check it frequently, and once the bird is thawed, you must cook it immediately.

Now for the Turkey!

Turkey is a long time favorite of many families and now there are some great cooking tips tricks that anyone can learn and use to better prepare these wonderful birds.

Selecting the proper size: You should plan on about 3/4 pound per person for generous servings. You should understand that this will not leave much in leftovers. If you like to have more leftovers, plan on 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per person.

Hens or Toms: It may surprise you but the only real difference between a hen and tom is the size. Hens are classified under 16 pounds and toms are over 16 lbs. A somewhat secret cooking tips tricks is that both will be a young turkey, just a few weeks old at the time of processing. They will be equally tender and moist.

Roasting your bird: Remove the neck and giblets from the neck and body cavities. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water. If you want to stuff the bird, you should loosely stuff the body and neck cavities and then fasten the leg clamp back onto the legs.

Cooking tips tricks: Place the turkey in a roasting pan with the plastic timer unobstructed. Cover with a lid, or fashion your own cover with a loose tent of foil. Remember to remove the cover for the last hour for browning.

Cooking tips tricks for Roasting Times: Roast in a preheated, 325 degree Fahrenheit oven. Roasting will take about 15 minutes per pound if the turkey is not stuffed. Stuffed turkeys require an additional 1/2 to 1 hour cooking time. However, it is always best to follow the instructions that come with the stuffing and the turkey. You oven temperature may vary as well which will require you to adjust your time, either upward or downward.

Cooking tips tricks for Basting: One of the most useful tools you can have is a suction basting tube. These inexpensive tools can make basting your turkey a snap and they can also help decrease the time that the oven door is open, which leads to losing oven heat. Baste your bird about every hour or so. This will help make it brown and tender.

Seafood Delights

Here are a couple of seafood recipes that you will find GREAT! Try them and enjoy!

SPICEY CATFISH FILLETS
2 lbs catfish fillets 1 tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk 1/4 cup Tony Chachere's creole seasoning
1 cup corn meal mix peanut oil
1 cup flour

Soak fish in buttermilk 2 hours or more. Combine dry ingredients and place in plastic bag. Put a few fillets in the bag at a time and shake to coat. Deep fry in peanut oil at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or golden brown.

Uncle Laurence

This is easy to make a have a dy-no-mite taste! Try these killer fillets!

Crab Quiche

3 eggs, beaten 1 can fried onions
1/2 pint sour cream pie shell
1 can crabmeat
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Combine ingredients and pour into partially baked pie shell. Bake on 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Serve when cooled.

Aunt Joni

Again, easy and slap jaw great!!

Crispy Fried Mushrooms

I hope you have tried any of the previously posted recipes. Here are a couple additional recipes for ya!
1/2 cup all-purpose flour dash of pepper
1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp. dry mustard 8 oz. whole fresh mushrooms
1/4 tsp paprika oil for frying

Mix flour, salt, mustard, paprika, and pepper in a large plastic food storage bag. Set aside. Place buttermilk in small bowl. Dip a few mushrooms at a time in buttermilk. Place in bag with flour mixtures. Shake to coat. Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in deep fryer or heavy sauce pan at 375 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Turn over in oil several times. Drain on paper towels.
Jaw Dropping Good!

Aunt Sheryl

Here is a couple I know you'll Love

Here are a couple easy to prepare and great to get your mouth into!!

LASAGNA

2 lbs. hamburger meat 1 cup minced onions
2 lg. can tomatoes, crushed 2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 6oz. can tomato paste 3/4 lb. cottage cheese
1 tsp. salt 1/2 lb. Mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. pepper 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1-1/2 tsp. oregano Cooked lasagna noodles
1 tsp. onion salt

Brown beef in a large skillet with onion and other seasonings. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer slowly for 2 hours. Cover bottom of a baking dish with 1/3 of sauce; put cooked lasagna noodles on top and put cheese on top of this. Repeat these layers and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Aunt Barbara

Goodness my my. Put some on this plate please!

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

3/4 c. pecans 1 c. sugar
3/4 c. quick cooking oats, uncooked 16 oz. sour cream
3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs 1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. sugar 8 oz. white chocolate, melted
1/4 c. + 2 t. margarine, melted 4 egg whites, room temp.
2 8oz. pkg. cream cheese softened 1/8 tsp. cream of tarter
1 T. powered sugar

Combine pecans, oats, graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 c. sugar, and margarine, blend well. Press into bottom and 2" up sides of a 10" springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Combine cream cheese and 1 cup sugar, beat at medium speed with electric mixer until fluffy. Add sour cream and vanilla, mix well. Stir in melted white chocolate. Beat egg whites at high speed until foamy, add cream of tarter, beat until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar, beat until peaks form. Fold egg whites into cream cheese mixture, spoon into crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes; turn off oven and leave cake in oven for 30 minutes. Partially open oven door and leave for another 30 minutes. Cool and chill for 8 hours. Remove from pan and enjoy!

Aunt Sheryl

If you love cheesecake like I do, this won,t last long. Simply put...GREAT!!