Garden Trials and Cajun Okra

Hannah recently spent a week away and left the garden to me! She gave me instructions of what to pick and what to leave until she returned. There was actually very little for me to do!

This is our first year we've had deer damage in the garden. Up until now, for the 17 years we've been in this location, deer had not jumped the fences into the two raised bed gardens.

Unfortunately, this was their year to feast on all the strawberry plants, pumpkin plants, Swiss chard, tomatoes, asparagus, black-eye peas, winter squashes, raspberries, blackberries, sunflowers, hyacinth bean, roses...you name it, they munched the vegetables down to the ground!

All that work Hannah put in....and mostly everything was decimated! True sadness.

I did pick some yummy okra while Hannah was away...for Granny and me...the guys won't touch it.

I picked peppers, cucumbers, and okra. It was the first time I'd been outside to work in the garden since the tick bite/Lyme. I was a little paranoid...but it felt good to be back outside in my old stomping grounds:
Chop them up...

Put them in the frying pan with a little olive oil and sprinkle with Cajun Seasoning:

Cook for several minutes until they look toasted and cooked through. If you're thinking okra is slimy...it's not at all slimy cooked this way. So very fresh from the garden, and the flavor is delicious!

But no matter how much I rave over the taste, the guys still won't try even a tiny bite!

Hands up if you love okra...or would like to try it this way!

~Deb

Comments

[Vickie]

We love fried okra but have only been able to raise some one year in the great NW. We grew up in the South where you put corn meal on it and fry it in a small amount of oil - wonderful! Glad to know you had some and it sounded good with the Cajun seasoning!

[Nancy Olinger]

Love fired okra-- I've always used corn meal but I am going to try your method-- looks delicious!

[Jackie Simpson]

I am so sorry that the deer raided your garden. However, I'm thankful they left the remaining plants. It's understandable that you would be a bit nervous over returning to the garden. Am going to try your recipe!It sounds tasty!

[Carolyn Shortt]

Hi, Deb, So happy to hear you are out and about again! Yay!
I want to share with you about something we found that works on deer here in our area. Poo Roberts, Dr. Robert's wife, told me about it. The product is "Deer Off". It comes in a plastic package with a picture of a deer on it. It has 6 metal pieces and 6 little, round dark gray colored plastic objects in the package. You take one of the metal pieces, straighten it, and insert in bottom of plastic (push hard), and stick it in the ground where you see deer. They last a long time. Just stick them in different areas, and the deer don't come around!! Or, at least they work for us and they worked for Poo. I kinda hate telling people about things like this, to hear them say it doesn't work for them. Well, I cannot make any promises for you, but they sure work for us, and we have deer everywhere around here. We have been using them for years, and the deer just shake their heads when they look at our place!! (-: You can get them at Lowes or Walmart. They run anywhere between $15.95 to $19.95. I've been buying them for several years now. So, it is worth a try to keep the deer from destroying all of Hannah's hard work and expense!!! I also hang them in our apple trees. Hope it works for you.

Tell Jonathan, his smash burgers looked great!!!

[victoria]

Okra holds no special place in my heart. :) Glad you enjoy it. Poor Hannah doing all that work in the garden just to end up feeding the deer! Hope next season is deer free. Glad you are back out in the yard again, Deb.

[Chris Odorisio]

Deb my mom made us fried okra all the time when I was growing up and I LOVE it!! DON'T like it in soup when it gets slimy but fried is soooo yummy!

I noticed this morning that several of my hydrangeas and hibiscus plants in our yard were gnawed down to the stems!!! AHHHH...I noticed deer in the yard about a week ago early one morning, I think they think my yard is an open buffet...all you can eat! lol I am going to have to try your friend Carolyn's suggestion!