At Home with Hippocrene

Both previous editions can be seen here.

After work one day I went to the farmer's market in Rockefeller Center (that will unfortunately be ending soon!) and tried to get some ideas for dinner. There were several different farms and businesses there, selling everything from homemade soaps and pies to fresh herbs and produce. After wandering around I eventually came up with spaghetti after spotting fresh basil and fried chicken with corn on the cob, and some tomatoes and cucumber for salads. One seller had okra, and after passing by a few times, I helped myself to a bag and started filling it up. I'd never made okra before but sometimes you just have to go for it!

So I hunted through the indexes of our cookbook library, trying to decide what kind of okra dish would be my guinea pig.  Previously we've enjoyed main entrees from the Philippines and India, so I wanted to try an altogether different cuisine. I discovered that okra is sometimes called "bride's fingers" in Afghan Food and Cookery, and that Greeks call them bamia in Regional Greek Cooking, but so do the Jewish-Iraqi (Mama Nazima's Jewish-Iraqi Cuisine).But I thought this simple preparation from Cooking with Cajun Women would go well with the fried chicken dinner I'd begun to fantasize about. They're in season from July to November, or until the first frost, so enjoy them while you can!