1 Okra and the South

I adore the South . . . from the love of hand written notes to having a fresh pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge at all times, I like to think of myself as a Texan (with a dash of the South in the mix)! I will never forget visiting my friend, Ashley, in Charlotte and absolutely falling in LOVE with the entire town. . . especially a lady at church who during the prayer literally made JESUS into 4 syllables.  . . I was obsessed. . . seriously, obsessed. . . . when I teach my kiddos about the Civil War, I immediately revert to my "Charlotte" accent and tell them that it was truly the "War of Northern Aggression!" Then I spend part of the class giving a lecture on how they need to act like southern gentlemen and ladies, with a few manners lesson intermingled in the lecture. . . (don't worry, I give the Northern side too. . . . have to be the unbiased teacher!)

My love of the south does not stop with being enamored with Civil War history .  . .

It continues into the realm of food. . .

OKRA.  . . mm-mm, good. . . it is amazing fried or stewed. .  . this is my favorite "healthy" okra recipe and has been passed down in my family for years. . .

 Slice the okra

Cook it in the bacon grease 

Chop the tomato

Add to the okra 

onions 

bell pepper 

only add two jalapenos with seeds if you want your mouth to be on fire for 3 days . . . spoken from experience and I like things spicy. . . 

and enjoy! 

Super Mom's Okra and Tomato Mumbo Gumbo
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pint sliced okra (1/2 " thick)
1 med, onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 pint tomatoes, chopped
1 med bell pepper, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, diced (seeds removed or don't use jalapenos at all if you don't want the okra spicy)
1/4 c bacon drippings
Cook okra in bacon drippings about 10 min. Stir constantly to keep from sticking. Add tomatoes and boil for another 10 min. Add rest of ingredients and simmer on a low burner for about 1 more hour. Salt and pepper to suit your taste.

(my daddy likes to serve it with black eyed peas and cornbread!)