Alphabetical list of vegetables | Recipes from Nic and Chris 10th April 2015 Alphabetical list of vegetables Here is an alphabetical list of vegetables and a few related facts about each one. We hope you find it of use and maybe get to enjoy eating a few veggies you never knew existed. Artichoke – There are two vegetables with the name artichoke and they are quite different from each other. The ‘Globe Artichoke’ is a tight head of fleshy leaves, delicious steamed or boiled and eaten with lemon butter or hollandaise sauce. The tips of the leaves are too tough to eat even after cooking and the fiberous ‘choke’ is also inedible, but the ‘heart’ is wonderfully buttery in texture with a great flavour. The ‘Jerusalem Artichoke’ is a knobbly tuber like a small malformed potato. It has a smoky flavour and is delicious and healthy but has a tendency to cause flatulence in most people so don’t eat too much of it. Asparagus – tender green tips available during a short growing season. Asparagus plants continue to produce new shoots every year and can last more than a decade, producing a crop each spring.

There are two major forms; the green asparagus and the white asparagus. Both are delicious. Aubergene – A vegetable that absorbs strong flavours well.Commonly rich purple coloured skin with a white fleshy interior he aubergene is called eggplant in America. A key ingredient in moussaka. Beans – high protien seeds of legume plants. Beet – Tubers with rich, nutty, earthy flavours. A sweet variety of beet is grown commercially in europe and asia for sugar manufacture. Red beetroot is often sold pickled. The red colour can stain almost anything and has been used in clothing dyes for centuries. ‘Borscht’ is the classic beetroot soup from eastern Europe. Broccoli – green and delicious and full of vitamins. The ‘florets’ are actually underdeveloped flowers. A versatile veg that is used across the world in many different ways. Brussels sprouts – traditionally eaten with Christmas Dinner in the UK. Brussels sprouts are small and green and look like mini-cabbages. They grow well in northern Europe and frosts do not damage the unharvested vegetables, hence their popular. Cabbage – the king of vegetables. Easy to grow almost anywhere.

Cabbages generally come in white, yellow, green and red colour schemes. In Germany the pickled ‘Sauerkraut’ is pretty much a national dish and in Korea a similar but spiced ‘Kimchee’ has equal status in the national cuisine. Carrot – Introduced to most of Europe by the Romans, carrots have been popular for 2000 Years. However the orange colour is a comparitively recent addition. The first orange carrots were cultivated in the Netherlands in the Sixteen Hundreds. Cauliflower – White relative of broccoli. Cauliflower cheese is a universal classic favourite way of serving this vegetable Celeriac – a large knotted ball-like root vegetable which makes amazing nutty soups Celery – Slightly bitter (unless blanched) european stalks with a distinctive flavour, used in salads, stews and soups. Chard – green leafy vegetable, high in iron. It grows well during british winters and is used as an alternative to spinach. Chicory – A bitter vegetable that is ‘forced’ (grown in darkness) and so has white leaves. Collards – This leafy green vegetable is also known as tree-cabbage and is rich in vitamins and minerals.

Corn – North American native vegetable considered sacred by many native tribes. Confusingly corn is also the word used to describe the seeds of wheat and barley. Cress – small peppery sprouts Cucumbers – related to courgettes and traditionally used raw in salads. The cucumber grows quickly and holds lots of water Gourds – The common name for fruits of the Cucurbitaceae family of plants (members include cucumbers, squashes, luffas, and melons). Jerusalem Artichoke – It isn’t an Artichoke and it doesn’t come from Jerusalem. The jersalem Artichoke is actually related to the sunflower. The bit we eat is an ugly little tuber (like a small thin and knobbly potato) that tastes amazing. It has a smoky taste that really excites the palette. Kales – Until the Renaissance, kale was the most common green vegetable eated by the people of northern Europe Kohlrabi – Kohlrabi is a member of the turnip family and can be either purple or white. Leek – The national vegetable of Wales. Lettuce – lots of green leaves used as a mainstay of salads.

Varieties such as round, isberg, lollo rosso and radichio are popular. Melons – Wonderful fruits with a high water content. There are many farmed varieties . All have seeds surrounded by rich, watery but sweet flesh that is encased in a fairly hard shell. Mushrooms – not technically a vegetable, but a far older member of the plant kingdom. Mushrooms do not use sunlight to produce energy, hence they have a completely different range of tastes than any other vegetable. Did you know that the largest single living organism on earth is a mushroom called Armillaria Ostoyae, the biggest of which is up to 8,500 years old and carpets nearly 10 square kilometres of forest floor in northeastern Oregon, USA. One variety was available in cultivated form for much of the 20th century, but in the 21st dozens of mushroom varieties have been successfully grown in commercial yields and can be purchased in the shops. Okra also called ‘ladies fingers’ or gumbo is a wonderful pungent vegetable from the same family as hollyhock.

It probably was first cultivated in Ethiopia and is still a North African staple, but has become popular in Europe, Asia and America too. Onions Onions have been eaten for tens of thousands of years and we still aren’t bored of them. White and Red are the common colours for onions and they can vary in size from a few millimetres to almost a foot across. Pak Choi The Pak Choi or chinese cabbage is a delicious leaf vegetable often used in Chinese cookery. It is a relative of the standard western cabbage but has a milder flavour and soft leaves. Parsnips The sweet, starchy parsnip was a very popular european vegetable before the arrival of potaoes and Sugar Cane from the Americas. Although not the prize it once was, the Parsnip is a classic root vegetable, particularly popular in more northern lattitudes. Peas – best eated within minutes of picking as the sugars rapidly turn to starch. Therefore frozen peas often taste better than ‘fresh’ peas. Peppers – These are the fruit of the Capsicum family of plants. The hotter tasting ones (due to more Capsaicinoids in the flesh) are usually refered to as chillis.

Potatoes – Nothing finer than a steaming plate of mashed potatoes. An american staple crop that as been exported all over the world. Pumpkins – A popular gourd vegetable used in cooking and to make halloween jack o lanterns. Radicchio – a chicory leaf used in salads. Popular since ancient times, modern widescale cultivation of the plant began in the fifteenth century close to Venice in Italy. Radish – rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), folic acid (folate), and Potassium, the raddish is a peppery vegetable popular in western and asian cookery. We usually eat the taproot, but the leaves can also be eaten in salads. Rhubarb – A plant with large leaves that grow out of thick succulent stems with a very particular floral scent. These stems are popularly eaten as a fruit once sweetened and cooked. Rhubarb was originally native to China but has been popular in Europe since Roman times. Rutabaga – Alternative name for Swede Salsify – A long thin root vegetable with a mild nutty flavour. Once common in Europe but has gone out of fashion in many countries and so is rarely grown on a commercial scale any more.

Shallots – Small onions often with a more fiery bite. Spinach -large green leaves wilt easily in a pan and are often served with a little butter and nutmeg as an accompanying vegetable. Spinach contains lots of healthy trace minerals including iron Squash another generic name for fruits of the vine of the Cucurbitaceae family of plants (see also Gourds). Butternut Squash has recently grown in popularity in the United Kingdom. Swede – Apparently a cross between cabbages and turnips swedes are a low calory root vegetable Sweetcorn – a north american native plant loved throughout the world. Sweet potato Ipomoea batatas (related to the morning glory) produces a starchy tuber. In the USA the red variety of sweet potato is often called a yam, although yams are a seperate vegetable in their own right. Tomatoes – not technically a vegetable, but a fruit. Tomatoes are best grown yourself because the uniform flavourless powdery fruits available in supermarkets are not worth eating. Turnips – Root vegetable will grow in cold climates.

Watercress – very peppery small salad like leaves Watermelon – Sweet tasting gourd reaches enourmous size and definitely the most refreshing fruit there is. Yams – Sweet starchy tuber that are popular in African, Carribean and American cookery We hope this alphabetical list of vegetables is of use to you. Share on New Orleans Gumbo Recipe, Whats Cooking America 1 pound fresh shrimp , peeled and deveined* 1 jar fresh oysters (check for shells) 2 cloves garlic , chopped fine 1 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper 1 can (10 1/2 ounces) tomatoes 2 sprigs parsley, chopped 1 bay leaf (remove before serving) 2 teaspoons Cavender's Greek Seasoning** 2 quarts water or fish stock 1 bunch green onion, chopped 1/2 pound crabmeat or 1 dozen whole crabs*** Salt and pepper Hot cooked long-grain white rice Crackers 1 teaspoon File Powder, optional**** * In New Orleans they sell what are called "gumbo shrimp." They are not the big shrimp that you use in a "stand alone" shrimp dish. They are used more for flavor than texture.

I guess you could put some of the shrimp in early for the simmering and some later for the presentation. Some people in New Orleans even boil the shells and heads to get that serious shrimp flavor. I don't care for it myself; it has that "low tide" taste! ** If you can't find Cavender's Greek Seasoning, you can substitute another brand of seasoning salt. but Cavender's is the best. *** If using whole crabs, scald live hard-shelled crabs and clean, removing the spongy substance and the "sand bag" on the under part. Break off and crack the claws and cut the body in half. **** Gumbo is also thickened with File Powder, made from ground dried leaves of the sassafras tree. File powder must be stirred into gumbo after it's removed from the heat because undue cooking makes the powder tough and stringy. Instructions: Start making the Roux (see below recipes). In a large frying pan, fry okra in 2 tablespoons shortening approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until it ceases to "rope" (slimy strings connecting the okra); remove from heat and set aside.

NOTE: Take your time and do not burn it. It is worth the trouble. In a Gumbo Pot or a large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat, melt the butter and fry the onions and celery about 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic, and bell pepper; simmer 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, parsley, bay leaf, Cavender's Seasoning, water or fish stock, green onion, fried okra, prepared Roux, and crab meat or crabs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let gumbo simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Just before you are ready to serve, add the shrimp and oysters. Cook approximately another 6 to 8 minutes - just until the shrimp turn pink and are done. Serve with hot rice, crackers, and file on the side. Makes 6 servings. Roux - How To Make Roux: Many New Orleans recipes start with "First you make a roux." A roux is a cooked mixture of flour and a cooking fat that is used to thicken sauces, stews, and gravies. The richness of dark colored roux adds both flavor and color to the finished gumbo.

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening or vegetable oil (your choice) 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour Always use equal amounts of oil and flour when making roux. Remember this simple rule when increasing the amount of roux made. A large gumbo would benefit from a full cup of oil combined with a full cup of flour. Roux may be made 1 week ahead, cooled completely, and chilled, covered. Roux also freezes well. Stovetop Roux: The old-fashion method for making roux. In a heavy skillet (I like to use my Cast-Iron Skillet ) over medium heat, heat vegetable shortening or oil until hot. Add flour gradually, stirring or whisking to combine with the shortening or oil. After adding all the flour, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, about 45 to 60 minutes or until roux is dark brown (the color of peanut butter) and has a nutlike odor (it will be very thick and pasty). NOTE: This process takes some time, depending on how high the heat on your stove is. The slower, the better, but be ready to remove skillet from the heat and stir more rapidly if the roux appears to be burning.

It is suggested that you keep stirring until the roux is relatively cool. When done, immediately remove from heat and set aside. Carefully transfer it into your stockpot and start making gumbo. Micrwave Roux: A quick and easy method for making roux. You will also want to use the largest bowl you have that can fit into the microwave because as it cooks, the roux expands. Cook the oil on high for 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, then continue to microwave at a medium setting, in 3-minute increments, stirring each time, until the roux is dark brown (the color of peanut butter). NOTE: Each microwave is different so you will have to determine if you need to cook your roux for another minute or two. Carefully transfer it into your stockpot and start making gumbo. Bang! Gumbo Recipe : Food Network 4.5 13 I made this tonight. It was amazing. Susanna McIntyre 2014-02-11T00:08:21Z item not reviewed by moderator and published Taste great, easy, quick and banging.

Dolores Jackson 2014-01-02T17:13:05Z item not reviewed by moderator and published At which point do you put the diced chicken back to the pot? Guest 2013-11-02T10:07:27Z item not reviewed by moderator and published Best Gumbo I've ever made. I didn't use any salt and cut the ingredients by half. I found it was still a bit spicier than I would've liked but it was still delish! I found a peanut butter color roux was just fine and I didn't have to worry about ruining it. Nothing worse than burnt food : We also left the shrimp out, I just wasn't in the mood to clean them. Spryte79 2013-03-02T17:43:58Z item not reviewed by moderator and published The recipe was great and it was very good! Now that I know how to make Gumbo, I'm going to use this as a base and try some other variations but this is a really good recipe the way it is!

JoseVD 2012-07-30T11:52:15Z item not reviewed by moderator and published it is the best my husband loved it said it was better then his moms of course i added alot of spice an extra stuff. to give it that real louisiana spice Guest 2012-07-19T13:08:10Z item not reviewed by moderator and published Loved this recipe. I didn't know when to add the chicken back so I added at the same time as the shrimp just to re-warm so that it didn't get dry. It was tasty ! Guest 2012-02-07T11:58:07Z item not reviewed by moderator and published Awesome. Be careful with the roux that's the most important part. I added crawfish as well. Definitely a crowd pleaser.. They don't mention their secret spice. I use equal parts cayenne, black pepper and smoked paprika. Then added about 1/4 onion and garlic powder!

maureen_cramer 2012-01-29T03:33:16Z item not reviewed by moderator and published So delicious and super easy! We made it with frozen okra and left out the shrimp, and it was better than any gumbo I have had at a restaurant! I took Ken's advice and added extra butter to the roux and it turned out amazing! smartblonde8302 2012-01-28T11:52:06Z item not reviewed by moderator and published I have made this recipe a few times. Add more butter to the roux and do not add salt. This is an excellent recipe that I will use many times in the future. Half a recipe is appropriate unless it is a large family gathering. Guest 2011-11-21T14:29:15Z item not reviewed by moderator and published This was really good! In fact, we went to Bang today to compare it. It tasted very close to the recipe. Just as the other reviews state, I needed more butter for the roux and the first batch was very salty.

Hold off on the salt and salt to taste later. I also recommend visiting Bang if in the area. russell80104 2011-11-19T22:56:09Z item not reviewed by moderator and published Delicious! Guest 2011-10-19T06:46:51Z item not reviewed by moderator and published Texture = Perfect Flavor = Amazing! Looks exactly like I expected it to turn out : My only negative is that it was a little saltier then I prefer...however perfect level of saltiness for my husband. Instead of chicken breasts, I boiled a whole chicken for 20 minutes in chicken broth and water mixture and used that same mixture as the "Chicken Stock" that the recipe calls for. I then shredded up the chicken and added back to the soup. One more recommendation is that when preparing the roux, have an extra 1/2 stick of butter. My roux was way too dry (so dry that there is no way it would have browned at all and the extra 1/2 stick made it more of a paste and it started darkening instantly upon adding. Angie T.

2011-09-23T10:07:56Z item not reviewed by moderator and published On TV 1 teaspoon ground white pepper Salt Shelled and deveined shrimp (from the stock) 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over Steamed rice, sliced scallions and Tabasco, for serving How to make this recipe In a stockpot, heat the oil. Add the shrimp shells and cook over high heat, until starting to brown, 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook until it begins to stick to the pot, 2 minutes. Add the clam juice, onion, celery, carrot and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat for 25 minutes. Strain the stock into a heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, whisk the flour with the oil to make a paste. Cook over moderate heat, stirring often, until the roux turns golden brown, 30 minutes. Increase the heat to moderately high and cook, stirring, until the roux is dark brown, 10 minutes longer. Scrape the roux into a bowl and reserve. In the stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil.

Add the garlic, onion and celery; cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add the roux and cook until bubbling. Stir in the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, until no floury taste remains; skim off the fat. In a skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the green pepper, okra, chile powder, paprika, fil&#233;, oregano, thyme, cayenne and white pepper. Season with salt and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant, 5 minutes. Stir in a ladleful of the liquid in the stockpot, scrape up the browned bits and transfer to the gumbo in the pot. Simmer, stirring, for 1 hour. Add the shrimp to the pot and cook, until just white throughout, 2 minutes. Stir in the crab; season with salt. Notes Mike's Seafood Gumbo | The Spice House Mike's Seafood Gumbo Print Recipe Submitted by Mike from Glen Burnie, MD Not satisfied with the taste or the proportions of various seafood gumbos, I created my own.

With the freshness of The Spice House spices and local seafood, how could it be anything but delicious! Yield: 4-6 as a meal, 6-10 as a smaller course Kosher salt is the workhorse salt of most kitchens, with a pure salt flavor and a versatile flakey texture. Each crystal is an irregular,... Size Options $4.47 kosher flake salt We grind this high-grade Tellicherry pepper in small batches every week, for the freshest, most pungently pepper taste. Sifted through a... Size Options $5.03 Glass jar, 1/2 cup (wt. 2 oz) Cayenne pepper is the hottest ground red pepper we sell; at 40,000 scoville heat units, it’s extremely hot! A little bit adds a fiery... Size Options $5.59 Glass jar, 1/2 cup (wt. 2 oz) Oregano is among the most popular herbs in the world. It has a bright, tangy, lemony flavor that’s essential to Italian and Greek... Size Options $2.79 Glass jar, 1/2 cup (wt.

.5 oz) Mike's Seafood Gumbo Recipe 1 pound shrimp, medium size, peeled and deveined 8 ounces crab meat (backfin, lump, or special) 8 ounces bay scallops (or cut up sea scallops) 1/3 cup flour 1 red bell pepper, diced 3 ribs celery hearts, diced 5 cloves garlic, minced 10 ounces frozen, sliced okra 3 cups cooked rice Preparation Instructions Clean and prep seafood. Prepare roux in large heavy saucepan by stirring butter and flour constantly for 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue stirring for 10 minutes, or until the roux is reddish brown. The darker the roux = more creole vs. cajun (lighter). Stir in peppers, garlic, onions, celery, salt, black and red pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes until crisp, but tender. Stir often. Gradually!! stir in chicken stock. Blend it into the roux and vegetables. Add can of tomatoes, okra, and all the spices but the filé. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat, add the andouille, into the pot, already cut into slices, when you cover and simmer. and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Now would be a good time to start rice according to directions. Stir in seafood. Simmer for 5 minutes more until scallops and shrimp are opaque and firm. Stir in filé powder and discard bay leaves. Serve in bowls with a scoop of rice on top. Yield: 4-6 as a meal, 6-10 as a smaller course Helpful Hints • Use fresh seafood. Okra - Vegetable Directory - Watch Your Garden Grow - University of Illinois Extension University of Illinois Extension Alert: Making Pesticide Applications in School/Community Gardens Okra Okra (also known as gumbo), is a tall-growing, warm-season, annual vegetable from the same family as hollyhock, rose of Sharon and hibiscus. The immature pods are used for soups, canning and stews or as a fried or boiled vegetable. The hibiscus like flowers and upright plant (3 to 6 feet or more in height) have ornamental value for backyard gardens.

Recommended Varieties Annie Oakley (hybrid; 52 days to harvest; compact plant; extra tender pods) Dwarf Green Long Pod (52 days; ribbed pods) Clemson Spineless (56 days; AAS winner) When to Plant Because okra seeds do not germinate well in cool soils, plant seeds after the soil has warmed in the spring, probably a week to 10 days after the date of the last frost for your area. Spacing & Depth Sow seeds 1 inch deep in hills 12 to 24 inches apart. When the seedlings are 3 inches tall, thin all but the one strongest plant per hill. The seeds may be soaked, wrapped in moist paper toweling or in water overnight, to accelerate germination. Care Okra usually grows well in any good garden soil. Shallow cultivation near the plants keeps down weeds. Harvesting The pods should be picked (usually cut) while they are tender and immature (2 to 3 inches long for most varieties). They must be picked oftenâat least every other day. Okra plants have short hairs that may irritate bare skin. Wear gloves and long sleeves to harvest okra.

Use pruning shears for clean cuts that do not harm the rest of the plant. When the stem is difficult to cut, the pod is probably too old to use. The large pods rapidly become tough and woody. The plants grow and bear until frost, which quickly blackens and kills them. Four or five plants produce enough okra for most families unless you wish to can or freeze some for winter use. Common Problems For more information on aphids, see our feature in the Bug Review . Cabbage wormsâThree species of cabbage worms (imported cabbage worms, cabbage loopers and diamond back moth worms) commonly attack the leaves and heads of cabbage and related cole crops. Imported cabbage worms are velvety green caterpillars. The moth is white and commonly is seen during the day hovering over plants in the garden. Cabbage loopers ("measuring worms") are smooth, light green caterpillars. The cabbage looper crawls by doubling up (to form a loop) and then moving the front of its body forward. The moth is brown and is most active at night. Diamondback worms are small, pale, green caterpillars that are pointed on both ends.

The moth is gray, with diamond-shaped markings when the wings are closed. The damage caused by diamondback larvae looks like shot holes in the leaf. The larval or worm stages of these insects cause damage by eating holes in the leaves. The adult moths or butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves but otherwise do not damage the plants. The worms are not easy to see because they are fairly small and blend with the cabbage leaves. Cabbage worms are quite destructive and can ruin the crop if not controlled. They are even worse in fall plantings than in spring gardens because the population has had several months to increase. About the time of the first frost in the fall, moth and caterpillar numbers finally begin to decline drastically. For more information on cabbage worms, see our feature in the Bug Review . Questions & Answers Q. Should I remove the old okra pods? A. Yes. Maturing, older, tough pods sap strength that could go to keeping the plant producing new pods daily. Unless you desire ripe pods for dried arrangements or seed saving, overmature pods should be removed and composted. Q. Why doesn't my seed germinate even after soaking? A. Okra seed does not keep well.

Buy fresh seed each season, or save seed of non- hybrid varieties yourself by allowing a few pods on your best plant to mature. When the pods turn brown and begin to split at the seams, harvest them and shell the seeds from the pods. Dry seed thoroughly for several days, then store in a cool, dry place in tightly closed containers until next season. Q. My okra plants grew over 6 feet tall and the pods were difficult to pick. What should I do? A. Choose one of the new dwarf or basal-branching varieties, such as Annie Oakley, that grow only 2-1/2 to 5 feet tall. Q. What causes yellowing, wilting and death of plants in midsummer? A. These conditions are caused by either verticillium or fusarium wilt. Okra varieties, unlike certain tomato varieties, are not resistant to verticillium and fusarium wilt. Rotate crops to prevent buildup of crop-specific strains of these diseases in your garden. Selection & Storage Gumbo is Swahili for okra. The recent upsurge in the popularity of gumbo has also brought renewed attention to okra. Okra was brought to the new world by African slaves during the slave trade.

The pods must be harvested when they are very young. Preferably two inches long although three inch pods can also be salvaged. Harvest daily as the pods go quickly from tender to tough with increased size. Refrigerate unwashed, dry okra pods in the vegetable crisper, loosely wrapped in perforated plastic bags. Wet pods will quickly mold and become slimy. Okra will keep for only two or three days. When the ridges and tips of the pod start to turn dark, use it or lose it. Once it starts to darken, okra will quickly deteriorate. Nutritional Value & Health Benefits Okra is a powerhouse of valuable nutrients. Nearly half of which is soluble fiber in the form of gums and pectins. Soluble fiber helps to lower serum cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease. The other half is insoluble fiber which helps to keep the intestinal tract healthy decreasing the risk of some forms of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. Nearly 10% of the recommended levels of vitamin B6 and folic acid are also present in a half cup of cooked okra.

Nutrition Facts (1/2 cup sliced, cooked okra) Calories 25 Magnesium 46 mg Preparation & Serving Okra exudes a unique mucilaginous juice which is responsible for its thickening power in the famous Louisiana Creole gumbo dish. Aside from gumbo, okra compliments tomatoes, onions and corn, shellfish and fish stock. Okra has a subtle taste, similar to the flavor of eggplant. Home Preservation Freezing is the best method for long term home storage of okra. Freeze only young, tender okra. Okra must be blanched before freezing, as with all vegetables. Unblanched okra will quickly become tough and suffer huge nutrient, flavor and color loss during freezing. Follow the procedure outlined below for successful home freezing. To Prepare Okra for Freezing Since freezing does not improve the quality of any vegetable, it is important to start with fresh green pods. Avoid pods longer than 2 to 2-1/2 inches long. Okra that is at peak quality for eating is best for freezing. In a blanching pot or large pot with tight fitting lid, bring about 5 quarts of water to a rolling boil.

Meanwhile, wash, and trim of stems of okra pods, leaving caps whole. Blanch no more than one pound of okra at a time. Drop pods into boiling water and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid. Start timing the blanching immediately and blanch for four minutes. Prepare an ice water bath in a large 5 to 6 quart container or use the sink. Remove the okra from the blanching water with a slotted spoon or blanching basket. Emerge the okra in the ice water bath for 5 min. or until completely cool. If ice is unavailable, use several changes of cold tap water to cool the vegetables. Remove from water and drain. Label and date, quart size, zip-closure freezer bags. Pack okra into prepared freezer bags, squeeze out as much air as possible by folding the top portion of the bag over. Gently push air out and seal. Freeze for up to one year at 32Â°F or below. Note: Blanching water and ice water bath may be used over and over again. Return blanching water to a boil after each batch of vegetables is blanched and replenish water if necessary.

Recipes Okra and Corn with Tomatoes Serve this Carolina favorite over a bowl of long-grain rice with a piece of hot cornbread. The okra should be young, not longer than 2 inches. Vine ripen tomatoes and fresh bell peppers add to the richness of this dish. 2 tablespoons each butter and canola oil 1 large onion, thinly sliced into rounds 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon each thyme, red pepper flakes and basil 1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced 3 large fresh ripe, tomatoes seeded and chopped 4 ears corn, remove kernels, about 2 cups (may use frozen or canned whole kernel, drained) 2 cups small okra pods, left whole or 1/4-inch-thick rounds 1/2 cup water or chicken stock 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper In a 10 inch iron skillet or heavy pan, heat olive oil and add onions, bay leaves, thyme, basil, and red pepper flakes. SautÃ©, and stir until onions are limp add bell pepper and continue cooking until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes, okra, water, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn and cook 5 minutes longer. Taste, adjust seasoning if needed. Serve hot. Makes 6 servings. Okra and Green Beans This dish tastes even better after refrigerating overnight. The flavors blend into a wonderful taste sensation. Serve it warm or cold. This dish can also be oven-baked. Instead of simmering, lightly cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350Â°F. 3/4 pound fresh okra, uncut 4 tablespoons olive oil 3/4 pound fresh green beans 2 large garlic cloves, crushed then chopped 1 cup water plus 2 tablespoonssalt and freshly ground pepper 1 6-ounce can tomato paste Wash okra pods, trim stems, do not remove caps. If desired soak okra in vinegar for 30 minutes to remove some of the stickiness. Rinse well and drain. Wash beans and cut into 3 inch lengths. Combine water, tomato paste, olive oil, onion, garlic, salt and pepper in a sauce pan and mix well. Heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comet to boil.

Add okra and beans and additional water if necessary to almost cover vegetables. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently until vegetables are crisp-tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Makes 6 servings. How Roux Made Its Way Into the Gumbo Pot | Serious Eats How Roux Made Its Way Into the Gumbo Pot 16 [Photograph: Robert Terrell, Flickr ] There was a time when I thought of Southern food as a fixed thing. Certain recipes, ingredients, and ways of cooking were distinctively Southern, and others were not. Sure, I had a sense that dishes had evolved over time and were influenced by many different cultures along the way. What I hadn't quite realized was how quickly those iconic foods could change and the range of different forces that impelled the shifts. Gumbo is a good example. As our previous installment explored , it's a dish with deep roots in the South and even deeper roots in African foodways. Gumbo in America evolved slowly over the course of three centuries, taking on new forms and variations as it went.

And then, suddenly, in the 1980s, it was transformed almost overnight, and that transformation by all accounts was due to a single very influential chef. The Emergence of Roux [Photograph: Elizabeth Barbone] Let's pick up the story in the 1880s. By then, cooks in New Orleans were making three primary varieties of their famous stew: okra-based gumbo févi, gumbo filé thickened with powdered sassafras, and gumbo aux herbes. The last variant, often called gumbo z'erbes, is made with any combination of greens—mustard, beet, turnip, spinach—and it was a popular Lenten dish. It was only toward the end of the 19th century that the ingredient that's perhaps most closely associated with gumbo today made its way into the pot: roux. A staple of French cuisine, it's a blend of flour and fat (usually oil for gumbo) cooked together, used as a thickening agent and—particularly in its darker Creole and Cajun variants—as a flavoring agent, too.

Adding roux to gumbo was definitely a Louisiana innovation, and it seems to have been used first with oyster gumbos. In July 1880, after the New Orleans City Item ran an article on gumbo, they received a letter from "a lady who is a very competent authority in such matters" instructing them on the "genuine Creole method of making gumbo." She provided instructions for a standard chicken and okra gumbo with no roux, then followed it with a recipe for gumbo filé with oysters. It begins "make a roux and brown the ingredients as in the other recipe." Lafcadio Hearn's La Cuisine Creole (1885) includes eight different gumbo preparations, three of which are for oyster gumbo. One of them opens like this: "Fry a tablespoon of flour in a tablespoon of lard. Let it brown slowly so as not to scorch." Though not called out by name, that's a roux. It's added to two quarts of boiling oyster liquor along with onions, ham, and parsley. The oysters themselves are introduced at the very end along with a half cup of filé powder.

[Photograph: Elizabeth Barbone] In 1894, the New Orleans Times-Democrat declared, "the roux is the basis of everything good in the creole culinary line, such as gumbo, both okra and filé, daube stew, those wonderful fricassees, etc." Still, it took a good half a century to become universal in New Orleans-style gumbo. The 1922 Picayune Creole Cookbook included recipes for roux-free gombo filé, gombo févi, and gombo aux herbes, though its oyster gumbo and shrimp gumbo both begin with a roux made from a tablespoon for lard or butter and two tablespoons of flour. It wasn't until the 1950s that roux become the standard in Creole gumbo recipes—and in Creole cooking in general. "The roux has become kind of emblematic of New Orleans cooking," says Lolis Eric Elie, a former columnist for the Times-Picayune and the script editor for HBO's Treme. "I was talking to one of my aunts about how she made her spaghetti, and she started with a roux.

It makes no sense 30 years later but that's what she did." Roux was such a kitchen staple that in 1956 the I-ron Pot Packing Company of Ville Platte, Louisiana, introduced a line of instant roux. "Now," its advertisements promised, "anyone can make gumbo, stew, fricassee, sauce piquante, spaghetti, dishes, gravy, dressings, in a fraction of the former time." I-Ron Pot Roux was advertised in New Orleans newspapers for more than a decade, and other brands, like Tony's Instant Creole Roux, are still on the market today. By this time, the New Orleans style of gumbo had become standardized, too, and it was a seafood gumbo made with a light brown roux. In 2012, Elie wrote about his memories of gumbo in Smithsonian Magazine , and he noted, "My mother's gumbo is a pleasing brown shade, roughly the color of my skin. It is slightly thickened with a roux. . . .

When served over rice, my mother's gumbo is roughly the consistency of chicken and rice soup." Poppy Tooker, a New Orleans food writer, teacher, and television personality, describes her family's gumbo in almost the same way: "[My aunt] would make gumbo a lot at my grandmother's house," she recalls. "It was usually seafood gumbo. We never had chicken gumbo--never, never--when I was growing up. It was mostly okra gumbo that I remember." That same style of gumbo could be found in high-end restaurants and in casual neighborhood cafes, too. It had become the signature dish of New Orleans. Enter Paul Prudhomme Andouilla sausage. [Photograph: Julia Frost, Flickr ] Things could stay the same for only so long. Tom Fitzmorris, the long-time New Orleans restaurant critic and host of "The Food Show" on WSMB 1350 AM, witnessed first-hand a revolution in the city's culinary culture, which he chronicled in his memoir Hungry Town: a Culinary History of New Orleans (2010).

By the 1970s, he recalls, "New Orleans classic restaurant cuisine had become motionless." Every fine-dining restaurant in town served an almost identical menu of traditional French Creole classics: shrimp rémoulade, trout meuniere, and, of course, soup-like seafood gumbo. Enter a large, bearded, charismatic Cajun named Paul Prudhomme. Prudhomme grew up a hundred miles west of New Orleans on a farm outside of Opelousas in St. Landry Parish. The youngest of 13 children, he learned to cook by helping his mother tend their wood-fired stove and using fresh herbs gathered by his father and brothers out in the swamps. At the age of 17, Prudhomme opened a hamburger joint called Big Daddy O's Patio, which lasted all of nine months. Next, he headed west to Colorado, where he bounced around various big restaurant kitchens before returning to Louisiana in the early 1970s. While working in several Creole restaurants in New Orleans, he got to know Ella Brennan, and in 1976 she invited him to take over the kitchen at Commander's Palace.

It was the first time an American had been executive chef at the century-old high-Creole restaurant, and it was a turning point in New Orleans cuisine. "We threw out the interchangeable French menu every New Orleans restaurant had had for a million years," Ella Brennan told Tom Fitzmorris. "We replaced it with local everything." Out went the trout amandine, the original almonds and beurre noir supplanted by local pecans and a Cajun-seasoned brown sauce. The crab meat Imperial was sent to the showers, replaced by crab and corn bisque. Perhaps the most significant change was the gumbo. "The gumbo I did at Commander's was a roux gumbo," Prudhomme told Brett Anderson of the Times-Picayune in 2005. "To my knowledge, it had never been done before. It was chicken and andouille, down-and-dirty Cajun. It was what Mama used to do." Andouille, a spicy, coarse-grained smoked pork sausage, is a staple of Cajun cuisine, and these days you can't swing a dead cat in New Orleans without hitting a couple links of it.

In 1976, Prudhomme had to drive out into the country and buy it from a guy he had known since childhood. Chef Prudhomme continued popularizing what became known as "nouvelle Creole" when he helped the Brennan family open Mr. B's Bistro in 1979. Shortly after, he set out on his own to open K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, where his blackened red fish—encrusted in Cajun seasonings, dipped in butter, and seared in a smoking-hot cast iron skillet--became not just a local but a national sensation. It thrust Cajun cooking, up till then an obscure regional cuisine, into the limelight for the first time. In an era when most chefs worked anonymously in the back of the house, Prudhomme's celebrity was unprecedented. He appeared on magazine covers and national TV shows, hosted his own cooking program, and produced a line of home videos. His first cookbook, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen (1984), was a best-seller, and Prudhomme pioneered the role of chef-entrepreneur, too, with his own line of spices called Magic Seasoning Blends.

In just a few short years, Paul Prudhomme and the many cooks he mentored and inspired reshaped the entire culinary landscape of New Orleans. "He really changed a lot of our food," Poppy Tooker says. "It was vastly different once he got here." Lolis Elie agrees. "Paul Prudhomme did in part create a kind of pan-Louisiana cuisine," he says, "and trying to draw a line between Cajun and Creole can be difficult...When Prudhomme comes on the scene New Orleans became infused with Louisiana food. Those boundaries became porous." Perhaps no dish was more altered than gumbo. "[Prudhomme's] thick, dark-roux chicken-andouille gumbo was dramatically different from the lighter seafood gumbos served in most restaurants," Fitzmorris writes in Hungry Town "Within a few years, most gumbos in hip restaurants around town were in the robust, new style." There's now a divide between gumbo as it's found in restaurants and the way it's cooked in private homes by locals using their family's traditional recipes. "Restaurant gumbos are thicker and darker than I grew up on," Elie says.

"And thicker and darker than those found in the homes of most black New Orleanians." Poppy Tooker, a white New Orleanian, notes the same thing. "The roux has gotten out of control," she says. "Gumbo is a soup. It's not meant to be a stew. But very often now gumbos have so much roux and they're so thick they're almost a stew." Thanks in large part to Prudhomme's books and television appearance, his style of gumbo has now spread well outside of Louisiana, becoming the standard for what many diners across the South consider to be "authentic gumbo." The Importance of the Roux [Photograph: Jeffreyw, Flickr ] When Poppy Tooker makes a roux the traditional Creole way, she begins with half a cup of oil and a full of cup flour, and she has a trick for getting the color just right. "Unless your grandmother or somebody taught you, you don't know to do this," she says. "I let the oil and flour cook until it is sort of a milk chocolate brown, and then I add the onions.

This is the single most important thing I know of when you're making a roux." Like most New Orleans gumbo-makers, Tooker uses the "holy trinity" of onions, celery, and bell peppers, but she staggers their introduction to the pot. "If you add all three of them at the same time," she says, "the roux is going to get lighter." That's because the vegetables contain a lot of moisture, which slows down browning. "You add the onions first by themselves," she says, "Then what happen is like a magic trick. The roux gets darker, a bittersweet chocolate color. The natural sugars in the onions come out, and then you can add the celery and bell pepper." For Tooker, the purpose of the chocolate-colored roux is less about thickening and more about adding a rich, roasted flavor. "My gumbo is not thick," she says. "I add enough stock so that my gumbo is a soup." That's a different approach than Paul Prudhomme's.

Cajun cooks, he writes in Chef Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, "view roux as being essentially of two types—medium brown and black." The lighter roux is used with dark meats, the black roux with light meats and, especially, in gumbo. Prudhomme perfected a technique of making black roux rapidly over high heat, and he notes that it takes practice not to scorch the flour. He uses equal parts oil and flour, and he waits until the oil is smoking hot before gradually whisking the flour in with a long handled whisk. ("Cooked roux is called Cajun napalm in my restaurant's kitchen," he notes. "so be very careful to avoid splashing it on you.") He whisks the blended mixture constantly until it goes from chocolate brown to black, which only takes about four minutes. Then, he removes the pot from the heat, adds all the vegetables at once, and stirs until the roux stops getting darker. These days, thanks to his cookbooks and his influence on younger chefs, Prudhomme's thick version with its black roux and spicy andouille has come to define New Orleans gumbo. That concerns traditionalists like Lolis Elie.

"A lot of people moving to New Orleans are interested in immersing themselves in local cuisine," Elie says. "For most of them the standard gumbo is restaurant gumbo, and the way to learn is to get one of the more recent cookbooks by Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse." Much of New Orleans cuisine, he continues, is being driven by "chefs who are not natives who learned to make gumbo from chefs not from New Orleans, who [in turn] learned to make gumbo from chefs not from New Orleans. That dialogue between the home cook and the restaurant chef is weakened in this chain of students of the cuisine coming from other places." This is a phenomenon that is hardly unique to New Orleans. Many of the chefs who have become famous in noted Southern food cities like Charleston and Nashville are actually not from those cities at all. They certainly do look to the food traditions of their adopted cities, but their styles and preparations are shaped to a larger degree by the echo chamber of the tightly-knit culinary industry. "Think about a dish like shrimp and grits, which is a Carolina dish," Elie says.

"If you go to restaurants all over New Orleans, I would not be surprised to see a Creole shrimp and grits dish. The components are all part of New Orleans cuisine, but it ain't our food." Justin Devillier, the chef/owner at New Orleans's La Petite Grocery, has also noted the way the restaurant chefs have blurred culinary lines, and he points to gumbo and shrimp and grits, too. "I think you see a lot of restaurants sharing these ideas across the South," he says "The last time I went to Charleston I had a really really good Louisiana roux, and you come to New Orleans and you get shrimp and grits." Devillier has an interesting blend of an insider's and an outsider's perspective on Louisiana gumbo. He was born and raised in Dana Point, California, an Orange County beach town, but his father was a native Louisianan whose family roots in the state date back to the 1760s. "My grandparents live in southeast Louisiana," Devillier says. "So I spent a lot of summers coming out.

I grew up eating hogs head cheese and boudin, kind of the whole gamut of Louisiana fare." So he was quite familiar with Cajun cooking when he arrived in New Orleans in 2003. Devillier bounced around a few notable kitchens like Bacco and Stella before landing at La Petite Grocery in 2004. He helped re-establish the restaurant after Hurricane Katrina, was named executive chef in 2007, and with his wife, Mia, took over ownership in 2010. When it comes to gumbo, Devillier's approach is ecumenical, blending his own family's traditions with New Orleans restaurant styles. "I learned to make it from my uncles, who learned it from my grandmother," he says. "You get up into some of the small towns in Louisiana and it's like The Butter Battle Book. When they teach you to make a gumbo they teach you this is how you do it, and it's the only way you do it.

But Devillier studied Paul Prudhomme's cookbooks, too, and believes in "having the influence of what's on the market and also not being shy about changing things and trying to make things a little bit better." These days, Devillier says he's not so opinionated when it comes to gumbo. "At the end of the day," he says, "There are really just a couple of strong techniques you have to abide by. After that, it's open to all interpretations." His two key techniques are "being able to make a really nice roux and being able to make a really nice stock." For the roux, he advises using a good oil that can stand up to the heat, like canola, sunflower, or safflower. "I always try to get it as dark as I possibly can without burning it," Devillier says, but he doesn't rush it. "I usually start over a pretty high heat and I'll get everything kind of really going and agitate it all, then I'll turn down to medium low or medium. I'll sort of judge it as I go and I'll change the temperature based on that. You want it to develop its color while you're stirring it.

You don't want it to develop its color on the bottom of the pan." As for the stock, Devillier says, you must "be able to pull flavor from whatever ingredients you are using. You have to be able to get those real rich flavors into the broth. That way, when you do incorporate your roux, you make a base or gravy that will determine how delicious [the finished gumbo] is." From that point, he might incorporate any number of ingredients depending upon what's fresh that day—okra and greens, duck and andouille, shrimp and crab, even a little leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. "A friend of mine made an oyster and bacon gumbo recently that was really good," Devillier says. "Gumbo is really whatever you want to do with it." The Future of Gumbo [Photograph: Southern Foodways Alliance, Flickr ] With younger chefs like Devillier starting to feel less bound by traditional precepts, it will be interesting to see where gumbo goes in the future. The closed culinary loop of today's chef-driven culture is indeed blurring the regional lines that once demarcated the many sub-genres of Southern cuisine.

At the same time, this crosstalk allows diners to experience a much wider array of novel and delicious dishes than they could just a few decades ago. The restaurant world needs crusading outsiders like Paul Prudhomme, who come into a flagging culinary scene and inject new excitement and energy. It needs traditionalists, too, who pull back on the reins and keep us from forgetting how it used to be done in the past. I can't honestly say that there is a single proper way to make gumbo, or even three proper ways. Okra or filé, light brown or black roux, seafood or chicken: they're all wonderful variants that have evolved over the span of centuries, transforming a simple stew into something rich, personal, and wonderful. And all of them are delicious. Chicken Andouille Gumbo | The Spice House Chicken Andouille Gumbo Submitted by Donald Clair from Waverly, New York This was in the AAA "Going Places Magazine", Spring 2005. It states that the file powder can be omitted if it can't be found locally. You can also use italian or polish sausage, but you should use more cayenne to keep the fire.

It is courtesy of "The Gumbo Shop", in New Orleans. Voted best gumbo by locals. Yield: 6 entrees or 10 - 12 appetizers These leaves have a far more mild flavor and complex flavor than that of domestic bay, and add a subtly sweet astringency to dishes. Just... Size Options $2.79 Resealable bag, 0.5 ounce Thyme is a workhorse herb in most kitchens, with a strong, earthy taste that pairs well with roasted meats and vegetables, soups and... Size Options $4.19 Glass jar, 1/2 cup (wt. 1 oz) With its fresh, sweet flavor, basil is the one of most popular herbs in the country. This aromatic dried basil is delicious in Italian... Size Options $3.91 Glass jar, 1/2 cup (wt. 0.75 oz) Cayenne pepper is the hottest ground red pepper we sell; at 40,000 scoville heat units, it’s extremely hot! A little bit adds a fiery... Size Options $5.59 Glass jar, 1/2 cup (wt.

2 oz) Chicken Andouille Gumbo Recipe 1 whole chicken, or 8 pieces (about 2 1/2 pounds) 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced into rounds 3 quarts water 1 quart okra (fresh or frozen), sliced into rounds 1/2 cup flour 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking 2/3 cup vegetable oil, for roux 2 cups onions, diced 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cup celery, chopped 1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped 1 can (16 ounces) tomatoes, chopped 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste) 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste) {{ buttonText }} Preparation Instructions Cover cut up chicken or pieces with water and simmer over low heat for about and hour until chicken is tender and easily removed from bones. Pour off water (now stock) and set aside. When chicken is cool, remove from bones. While chicken is cooking, prepare vegetables and sausage. In a heavy frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add okra and saute over medium to high heat for 10-15 minutes, until "ropiness" is gone. Fresh okre may take longer.

While okra cooks, prepare garlic, bell pepper, onion, celery, and tomatoes. Slice sausage into 1/4 inch pieces. The next step, making the roux, requires 20 uninterrupted minutes. Combine 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup flour in a heavy Dutch oven. Cook over medium-low heat , stirring constantly, or very frequently, until it turns a dark brown color. To the roux, add the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic, and saute until vegetables are tender. Allow the vegetables to stick to the bottom of the pan a bit, then scrape them off with a metal spoon or spatula. This allows the sugar in the onions to carmelize, rendering a great depth of flavor. Add the sauteed okra, tomatoes, and sliced sausage. Cook 15 minutes. Add the bay leaf, thyme, basil, cayenne peper and salt, then add the reserved chicken stock. Mix well and bring to a low boil. Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours with pot loosely covered, stirring occasionally. Add the cooked chicken and simmer another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and skim off fat. Just before serving, stir in file powder.

Do not reboil after adding file, as this tends to make the gumbo stringy. Serve in large bowls over steamed rice. Yield: 6 entrees or 10 - 12 appetizers Share Your Recipes! Do you have a recipe you'd like to share with The Spice House community? We are currently gathering recipes to include in our collection and we would love to share yours online.

Question: What vegetable, starting with the letter O, is often used to make gumbo?
Answer: Okra