The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-08-15
USE OKRA FOR A CHANGE IN
SOUPS AND IN MEAT DISHES

Okra, OF "gumbo" commonly used
in the South, has yet to make place
for itself in the northern dietry, not
that taste for it has to be cultivat-
ed, but simply because its possibilities
have been overlooked.
1t may be grown throughout the
greater portion of the United States
except the extreme northern part.
The pods are excellent dried and can
ned, and as these may be obtained in
every large market, its use is not con-
fined to any season.
The principal use of okra is in
soups and in various dishes in which
meats form an important part. The
young pods irlpart an excellent flavor
besides giving o pleasant mucilagin-
Gus consistency. The young seeds are
sometimes cooked in the same way as
green peas, and the very young and
tender pods boiled and served as a
salad.
Okra in Metal Dangerous
No copper, brass, or iron cooking
vessel should be employed in prepar-
inc okra, as the metal will be absorb
ed and the pods discolered, or even
rendered poisonous. The cooking
should be done in enameled, porce-
lain, or carthenware utensils.
Try these reccips:
Winter Okra Soup
One can of good New Orleans orkc,
can tomatoes, tablespoons of but
ter, 2 small onions, dozen oysters,
3 tablespoons of rice, a small dried
red pepper pod, without the seeds, or
dash of cayenne.
Chop the onions and fry them in
the butter Wash rice well, then stew
the onions, tomatoes, pepper together
in about 3 quarts of water and l pin.
of oyster water for about three hours,
stirring frequently. Ten minutes be-
fore serving add the okra and let it
come to a boil. Then drop in the
oysters, boil up once, and serve.
Chicken Gumbo
One chicken, weighing 8 or 4
pounds, 1 pint of stewed tomatoes, l
onion, II pod of dried red pepper,
without seeds, pints of okra, or
about so pods, large slice of ham, l
bay leaf, sprig of parseley,1 table
spoonful each lard and butter, salt
and cayenne to taste.
Clean and cut up the chicken. Cut
the ham into small squares or dice
and chop the onion and the parseley
or thyme. Wash and stem the okra
and slice into thin layers of one-half
inch each. Put the lard and butter
into the soup kettle, and when hot
add the chicken and the ham. Cover
closely and let it simmer for about
10 minutes. Then add the chopped
onions, parsley, and tomatoes, stir
ring frequently to prevent scorchlng
Then add the okra, and when well
Drowned add the juice Of the toma-
toes, which imparts superior flavor
The okra is delicate and may scorch
if not stirred frequently. For this
reason many Creole cooks fry the
okra pods separately in frying pan,
seasoning with the pepper, cayenne,
and salt, and then add them to the
chicken. Equally good results may
be obtained with less trouble by
simply adding the okra to the frying
chicken and watching constantly to
prevent scorching. The least taste
of "scorch" spoils the flavor of the
pumbo. When we'll fried and brown
ed, add about 8 quarts of boiling
water, and set on the back of the
stove to simmer for about an hour
longer. Serve hot with nicely boiled
rice. Round steak may be substitute
ed for chicken, but it must be borne
in mind that the chicken gumbo is
the best favored.