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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 12, 2021 6:44:13 GMT -6
Thank you, Hedgeapple, for your kindness in going to the trouble to make a video tour in response to my request. I’m grateful, and I loved seeing your garden. I know it’s probably small compared to what you’re used to, but it looks like you’re making great use of your space. It’s much larger than anything we ever managed in Northern Virginia. Your plants look very healthy.
You must be a big fan of okra to grow so many types and experiment with your own variety. Your Windridge plants are looking great.
You mentioned growing your Bloody Butcher corn for decoration. Do you ever eat it in the milk stage or grind it for cornmeal?
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 12, 2021 7:31:54 GMT -6
Thank you, Hedgeapple, for your kindness in going to the trouble to make a video tour in response to my request. I’m grateful, and I loved seeing your garden. I know it’s probably small compared to what you’re used to, but it looks like you’re making great use of your space. It’s much larger than anything we ever managed in Northern Virginia. Your plants look very healthy. You must be a big fan of okra to grow so many types and experiment with your own variety. Your Windridge plants are looking great. You mentioned growing your Bloody Butcher corn for decoration. Do you ever eat it in the milk stage or grind it for cornmeal? Thank you for the compliments. Yes, okra is a favorite vegetable of mine for many reasons and other than farmer's markets (when I have lived near a good one) I have never been able to find it fresh enough to suit my tastes. The stuff at the grocery store is usually one variety or another and buying it under plastic when it is already old just doesn't do it for me. This is my first attempt at growing Bloody Butcher, and as you can see I made a little mistake in the spacing - that's what I get for following instructions. I don't expect to get much from this little patch, but have read that this and a few other red varieties make for delicious red grits, and if I have enough, that is what I will try for. Not everyone enjoys grits, but it is heavenly to me. 😊 I'm actually quite proud of our little garden this year. When we moved in last August that entire side of our yard was covered in fully mature and dying Leland Cypress trees... It is the most sunny spot in the entire yard so I made up my mind to re-purpose that stretch, which required tree removal, and significant work getting the soil ready for vegetables. I must have dug up a full pickup load of roots in that spot with a mattock! We also have two 4×8 raised bed boxes for my wife's cooking herbs on the other side of the yard. Paying grocery store prices for common herbs like rosemary, sage, etc. is like highway robbery. Some are so easy to keep that we decided years ago to just grow and keep our own. The boxes are in an easy to reach spot out the back door to the kitchen so Lizzie can just walk out there while she is cooking and pick what she wants. Fresh is always best. 💚
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 12, 2021 11:26:29 GMT -6
Two four by eight beds for herbs! Wow! I love it. I agree with you about grocery store prices for herbs. We find basil the easiest to grow (except for the huge areas landscaped with rosemary and Mexican oregano that we mostly ignore except for cooking). We have basil, parsley and dill in a garden, though the dill is mostly past. Soon after we moved into this house we uncovered a window box that was completely hidden by overgrown shrubbery. It’s near our back door to our deck. That was our first herb “garden.” Right now it has dill and lime basil, both of which volunteered this spring, so I left them alone. In the ground to the side there is a young bay tree and a couple of varieties of mint. We are trying to outcompete the nandina that used to grow there. This spring we built a cinderblock garden bed in a corner of our backyard next to the house. We had had a rain tank there, but we relocated it to a spot where we could direct a downspout to it. The bare mulch and exposed foundation bothered me, so we built this bed. I was expecting it to be more of a winter garden, but I wanted to give it a try for the summer. It has mint, Greek oregano, za’atar (Syrian oregano), thyme, and lavender in some of the holes as well as a couple of Ajicito peppers that really love it. The herbs are in the back to get some protection from the sun. The Roselle is doing well (except for the one that gets the overflow from the corner; it just keeps getting torn to shreds). The plant in front is bent over from getting the runoff from a big “frog strangler” storm last week, but it’s starting to stand back up again. The corn was just leftover seeds from my garden planting. It’s not the best, but I’m still enjoying watching what it does. My newest addition to herb growing this year was ginger. I have a pot on my front porch and this planter on my deck. I’ve used some leaves in cooking and figure that I can harvest some baby ginger root this fall. I’m very pleased with how well it’s growing.
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Post by macmex on Jul 12, 2021 12:44:25 GMT -6
Hedgeapple, that was a wonderful video! Thanks!
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 13, 2021 12:27:46 GMT -6
Thanks, for the video, Hedgeapple. And for that photo of the veggies in the bowl. that was so bright and sunny looking that it was almost like really being outside!
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 13, 2021 16:28:03 GMT -6
I don't deserve her, but I'm keeping her anyway.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 13, 2021 16:30:38 GMT -6
Yum. Now I’m really hungry..
Which variety of okra got the privilege of being coated and fried so beautifully? Windridge or something else?
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 13, 2021 16:32:57 GMT -6
Yum. Now I’m really hungry.. Which variety of okra got the privilege of being coated and fried so beautifully? Windridge or something else? That is a mix of Windridge and Sea Island Red. Yum!!!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 14, 2021 13:50:30 GMT -6
Yum, indeed! That’s some of the most beautifully coated and fried okra I’ve seen. Do you think you could ask Mrs. Hedgeapple to share her recipe and technique with us, please? I could definitely learn a thing or two.
I’m eagerly looking forward to having more okra pods come in later on in the summer. You’re ahead of me with the heat Virginia’s been having, but I’m not complaining about having cooler weather down here.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2021 15:45:50 GMT -6
Oh thank goodness my okra is developing or I'd be crying after seeing that photo.
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 15, 2021 8:32:32 GMT -6
Yum, indeed! That’s some of the most beautifully coated and fried okra I’ve seen. Do you think you could ask Mrs. Hedgeapple to share her recipe and technique with us, please? I could definitely learn a thing or two. I’m eagerly looking forward to having more okra pods come in later on in the summer. You’re ahead of me with the heat Virginia’s been having, but I’m not complaining about having cooler weather down here. Here is the recipe and method Lizzie used: 1 pound fresh okra 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup all purpose flour 1 cup cornmeal 1 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp fresh ground pepper 3 cups vegetable oil for frying (this will vary depending on the size and depth of your skillet) 1. Wash and trim ends of okra and slice into 1/2 inch pieces 2. Place buttermilk in shallow dish 3. Mix flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper together in another dish 4. Dip okra slices in buttermilk and then flour mixture, coating all sides 5. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet 6. Heat oil in a heavy skillet or pan to 350 (I suppose you could start this before this point) 7. Fry okra in batches for about 3-4 minutes, stirring to keep them separated 8. Remove to a paper towel lined wire rack to drain 9. Season with additional salt if desired The most important thing we learned the first time we tried to fry okra years ago is make sure the oil is hot enough - otherwise the okra doesn't really fry - it just absorbs the oil in the skillet, which is uh... no bueno. Also - do fry them in small-medium batches, otherwise the oil temperature drops too much and you get the issue mentioned before.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 15, 2021 15:18:02 GMT -6
Thank you.
I don’t have but one spear of okra today, but seeing that picture inspired me to a little adventure. I’m going to try frying my shishito peppers in a tempura batter. We’ll see how it goes.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2021 18:03:43 GMT -6
Impeccable timing. I've been experimenting with tempura lately. Switching up my batters. Tell Lizzie Thank You.
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 16, 2021 10:08:34 GMT -6
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 16, 2021 14:01:31 GMT -6
Beautiful. I happen to think that okra qualifies as an ornamental edible, though there are actually a lot of vegetable plants that I find quite attractive. The tempura, while not so beautiful as Mrs. Hedgeapple’s creations, was a hit with my family. I used the batter on a small eggplant, some zucchini, and one sliced spear of okra that grew way more than I expected in one night. The okra won the vote contest for favorite, but everybody agreed that it was all good. That was nice.
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