Okra and Tomatoes

image courtesy photobucket.com

My post from yesterday caused me to reminisce about the first year we lived in Oklahoma. The year was 1976 and we had arrived early enough to plant a garden. A trip to the local Wal-Mart gave us a variety of seeds including Okra, squash, and cucumbers.

On our way home we spotted a sign at a Garden supply that said, “Tomato Plants 5 cents each. WOW that seemed like a bargain, so we stopped and purchased a dollars worth; 20 plants.

It never occurred to us to ask what kind of tomatoes these were. It turned out they were cherry tomatoes! (Not our favorite.)

Our Okra and tomatoes grew like crazy and before long we had a bountiful harvest.

Every Wednesday evening the church we attended would have a before church Pot Luck, so I purchased a tomato colander that would take out the many seeds.

Thus I could create an amazing Southern dish to take to the church social.  It became a favorite; at least the associate Pastor said it was his favorite. Here I share my recipe with you.

Okra and Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 4 ounces breakfast sausage, preferably spicy, remove casings
• (Optional - substitute 4 slices bacon instead of sausage)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound okra, (about 5 cups), sliced
• 3 cups chopped tomatoes, (3-4 medium) (optional use canned tomatoes)
• 2/3 cup tomato juice or water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Optional - - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper or 1/2 minced jalapeno

Preparation

1. Cook sausage (or bacon) in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until it is no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Increase heat to high; add okra, tomatoes, tomato juice (or water), salt and crushed red pepper (or jalapeno) and cook, stirring often, until bubbling. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and the vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.

This post has been entered in Ann Kroeker’s, Food on Fridays at http://annkroeker.com/

Do amble over to her site and gather up some delicious and nutritious recipes.