We have plenty of okra growing in our garden….
My favorite way to eat it okra is raw, freshly picked off the vine. Before the okra appears, its bush produces gorgeous flowers. The bees love them, and our okra rows are a popular hangout in our garden.
Scallop squash, also known as patty pan squash, is another vegetable I like. It’s a summer squash that has a lovely scalloped edge. I use them in a lot of recipes, but today I chose to include them in the fried dish I made.
We don’t eat too much fried foods in our house, since we prefer baked, stir fry, or raw dishes. But once in a while, fried food is acceptable for us.
Recently Suituapui wrote about a meal he prepared with his wok… I commented about the much loved wok I’d used constantly but had set aside since we purchased a smooth top stove years ago. I was afraid my wok would damage the stoves surface.
All this time I thought it had been stashed away in our shed. But, last week I discovered my hand-hammered wok, when I opened up one of my rarely used kitchen drawers.
Of course I was pleased when I found out, it was perfectly fine on our smooth top stove. It was like reuniting with a long lost old friend. You see… I’ve had this wok for over twenty years. Back then, most of my meals were cooked with this wok, I really love it. In fact, I brought it to the university I attended, and cooked many meals on it for myself and friends.
Today, it did a great job of preparing the simple but delicious dish of fried okra and scallop squash. Because of some of our garden herbs and additional seasonings that I used, my daughter thought the fried scallop squash was actually chicken fingers. I’d made a honey ginger sauce for dipping, and it complimented the fried okra and scallop squash nicely. And to drink, there was peach berry smoothie I made earlier today. I’ll try to post pictures of that within the next few days.
I’ve been craving fried okra ever since Amanda, of Monkeys are My Friends, blogged about fried okra on her site. Mission accomplished, craving satisfied!