Seeing Red at the Farmers Market {PowerHouseCreatives Contest--I Spy...}

Hello again my friends! I seem to keep missing the great prompts that my pal @zord189 puts out each week for the @steemitbloggers community contest, but this time I'm getting it in before the deadline, by golly! For the theme this week we are getting nostalgic with a little game of "I spy, with my little eye"...something red. Of course I couldn't resist finding something perfect to take a picture of from the farmers market. No simple tomatoes or bell peppers for this veggie lover, I found something totally unique to bring to the literal and figurative table this time!

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Red okra! How cool is that? In case you've never heard of this before, the most common color it comes in is green. That's all I had ever seen until one of my favorite farmer buddies shared these on his Instagram and I decided I would just have to get over my fear of working with the often slimy little veggie. I can't tell you how many new things I've tried like this after getting such wonderful inspiration from my local farmers!

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I did not grow up with okra as a familiar vegetable in the northeastern part of the United States, but it is quite common down here in the South. Apparently there are many other cuisines around the world that it is used in, as well, like African and Mediterranean. Around these parts it is often battered and fried, but it is also a traditional ingredient in gumbo for those from NOLA (aka New Orleans, Louisiana). I believe those are the only two ways I have tried it. The only time I've actually had gumbo was a time I tried making it myself quite a few years ago (well before I was vegan). It was pretty terrible. The okra got so slimy I couldn't even get it down. There's not many meals I make that are completely inedible, but that was definitely one!

Since my farmer pal had teased these a few weeks ago while they were getting big enough to harvest, I've since had a few discussions on ways to minimize the slimy texture. He shared that making sure to let it fully dry after rinsing it before working with it is a good practice. Keeping the heat high using any cooking method was another. On the same post, a kind stranger also offered up slicing it longer diagonally as opposed to the traditional short square segments would help. A few other tips I have seen are to soak it in vinegar before cooking and to minimize chopping overall.

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Interesting enough, that same slime is supposed to have health benefits by binding with cholesterol and helping shuttle toxins from the liver. It's also a good source of fiber, vitamin K, and potassium (source). I would imagine the dark red color has additional antioxidants boosting the nutrition level even more! That's enough to make you look twice. I'm still not quite sure how I want to prepare these little beauties I bought today, but my pal @lenasveganliving has a really delicious recipe for crispy okra that might just end up on the meal plan.

Of course I got plenty more goodies on my trip this morning, but these were stunning enough to share all on their own for the contest. If they come out yummy enough to share, you will certainly "spy" another post soon...

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Banners by @zord189, @woman-onthe-wing, @dksart and @bearone for @steemusa


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I am not sure how you plan to cook it. I do not like slimy okra, my uncle actually made a slimy soup when I was a kid. Fried okra is big in the south and I love fried okra.
BTW I don't think I even saw a red one.

Yeah, I don't think I'm ready to try a soup yet, haha! I'm leaning towards Lena's baked recipe or maybe sauteed. I'll let you know how it goes! The red was just too pretty to pass up. ♥️

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I am learning about so many food items that I was totally unaware of from you, this red Okra looks and sounds so interesting

Thanks for being an active member of SteemUSA !tip

Isn't it fun? These farmers are just so awesome. I love that they are willing to try different things and perpetuate some lesser known varieties. US agriculture is more exotic than I ever realized. 😁

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And far more exotic than I ever realized i must make a point of visiting more farmers markets ;)

Please do because then you can share some stuff I might never have seen, haha! 😉

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I will do my best to get to some farmers markets ;)

Okra. Being in the upper Midwest it is not a veggie I ever ate as a child, and even now I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten it! Not a favorite of mine. But I have never seen the red kind!

I grew up in New Jersey and don't remember ever eating it there. I'm giving it a second chance, so we'll see how it goes! At least I'm a better cook than I was years ago, so hopefully this time it will at least be edible, haha!

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Never seen that before. What amazing color it has!

I thought so, too! Anything that vibrant is worth a purchase at least once. 😁

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No way!!! Red okra and I almost missed your post gain!!! How beautiful are they!!! Wow!!! Almost too beautiful for cooking, lol. Definitely deserving of few AWARDS!!! Most educational entry, Best Photography and
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Haha, thought you would like these! I had fun taking photos of these gems. About to post how they came out cooked in a few...

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Definitely gems 😊

Is it wrong that i never heard of it ?

Nope! I think it's definitely one of those regional plants that likes really warm weather, so probably not uncommon to never come across it in certain parts of the world. That's one of my favorite things about being on here--seeing some of the produce that people share that I will never see here!

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