Boulder County Farmers Markets
What’s happening
It’s the sweet spot of summer and fall. Temperatures are cooling, and produce is really popping both at the market, in our online store and at all local farmstands.
In season now
Summer and fall collide with apples, arugula, beets, basil, beef, bison, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, chard, cheese, chicken, collard greens, cucumbers, eggs, fennel, flowers, garlic, green beans, honey, kale, lamb, lettuce, pears, peaches, pork, potatoes, microgreens, mushrooms, scallions, shishito peppers, spicy greens, spring okra, onions, strawberries, sweet corn, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips and watermelon.
Lots of this, please
The edible okra pod is also known as sun vessels or ngmobo. Okra is a staple in African American cuisine in the south. Its unique, long and violent yet uplifting history is rooted in slavery. A history important to face that continually highlights that our food system is still intrinsically tied to the systematic oppression of people of color.
The farmer says
Every vegetable has a story, and we can honor and appreciate these origins by slowing down to learn more before we enjoy it without pause. It’s no secret that the majority of our diets do not contain crops that originated in the U.S., and in fact, made their first landfall in the Americas due to the slave trade. Okra is believed to have been brought to the West by Angolan slaves in the 1500s, and is indigenous to Western Africa and Southeast Asia.
Food justice activist, farmer and author of “Farming While Black,” Leah Penniman has described memories shared of her ancestors braiding okra and other seeds into their children’s hair as a form of inheritance before black bodies were stolen from their homes and brought to the Americas in the slave trade.
The story and symbolism of okra do not stop there. Alongside the seeds traveled culinary tradition from West Africa that adapted over time. In some sense, stripping away layers of its story over the years.
Traditionally in Africa, okra is ngombo. In Louisiana, its name changed to gumbo and came to mean any dish with okra — typically stews using the vegetable as a thickening agent. As the stew evolved it brought in other culinary traditions and spread regionally up the coast of the United States taking on new forms. Some of those forms were without the key ingredient and the base of its nomenclature — okra.
Of course, it’s worth noting this dish and many others are built upon out of tradition, a means to uplift, gather and comfort through food in communities of color. It’s when other communities, mostly white, start to enjoy these foods outside of their culture that a different opportunity is born — an opportunity to learn and pay homage to food origin as well as understand the roots and consequences of our food system.
Here in Colorado, we don’t see a lot of okra — but over the last few years, more farmers have it on their crop lists. It grows well in tropical and subtropical climates, and understandably it has a short-lived season here.
Catherine Blackwell, of Brown’s Farm, is originally from North Carolina and finds joy in growing and sharing this taste of home.
“I come from a big family, and fried okra is huge. My grandma would make it only on special occasions because it was so labor-intensive in large batches,” Blackwell recalls. “Everyone watches the okra plate go around the table and makes sure everyone gets a share.”
One thing we know for sure is that food is rooted in community, connection and gathering together. It brings comfort, joy and, in the case of okra, signifies ancestry and resiliency.
You can find a small supply of okra at each of our markets this week. Stubborn Roots Farm will have some at our Boulder Wednesday market tonight, Brown’s Farm in Longmont on Saturday, Rocky Mountain Fresh at both Boulder and Longmont and Micro Farms at Union Station.
How to prepare
Okra can take on a thickening effect when cooked. It lends itself well as a roux to stews and, you guessed it … gumbos. If cooked with an acid like tomatoes or pickled, it cuts down the slimy quality that some people find less appealing when eaten outside of a soup or stew. Blackwell offers one of her favorite, simple recipes (aside from fried okra) here and shares that it’s all in the preparation.
Goes with
Tomatoes, corn, lamb, eggplant, garlic
How to store it
Okra is best eaten or preserved after harvest. You can store it in the refrigerator in a perforated plastic bag or paper bag for two to three days.
Okra Chips
1 pint of okra-olive oil
Lemon
Salt and pepper
Directions: Preheat oven to 450. Cut off the caps of the okra and slice lengthwise. Toss in a small amount of olive oil, squeeze in a wedge of lemon, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning halfway through.
September 02, 2020 at 07:05AM
https://ift.tt/3gLYTiJ
At the Markets: Honoring the journey of okra - The Daily Camera
https://ift.tt/3hPCl2f
okra
No comments:
Post a Comment