Stewed Okra and Tomatoes with Shrimp (with an Asian twist)

Back in May, I showed you guys my new garden box! I thought the plants were doing well, especially the tomato plants since they were growing so quickly! Fast forward a few months and those tomato plants are dunzo. I'm not sure if it's because we planted the tomato plants late (early May) or because of the extreme Texas heat but the plants didn't survive. Sad face. P.S. I ripped the tomato plants out this past weekend and planted tomatillo plants instead -- I hope they make it!

But you know what did survive? OKRA. My saving grace. The okra pods started popping up like crazy by early July. Okra loves the heat and the sun! By early August, my okra plants were doing gangbusters business and I had to give some away to co-workers and neighbors -- gotta share the love, right? 

I literally have to pick the okra every single day or else they would get too big and become fiberous. I swear, they grow like weeds.

The plants are currently taller than me and still producing! I'm definitely planting okra again next summer.

{ginormous okra}

Thankfully, Micah and I love okra. While we both love fried okra, you can't eat that all the time... or maybe you can... but you probably shouldn't. 

My other favorite dish to make with okra is stewed okra and tomatoes. It's easy, fresh, and fairly healthy. I started eating stewed okra and tomatoes in middle school! At Beaumont ISD, the school cafeteria food was actually decent and stewed okra and tomatoes with rice was always on the menu! Bye bye chicken rings! (I kid, I liked those too)

Micah and I like stewed okra and tomatoes so much that I've made it at least 4 times this summer! If Micah isn't bored with it, then I'll keep making it.

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes with Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 pounds okra (usually one container at the grocery store will do)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 small bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1 pound of shrimp (small to medium sized)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. of creole seasoning (you can use whatever brand you like, I make and use this mix)
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooked rice to serve with the stewed okra and tomatoes

Instructions

1. Prep the veggies (cut the okra, onions, bell pepper, and garlic)

 

{This is how much okra I used}

 

{Cut the tops and ends off and slice into circles. }

 

{I had a tomato sitting around so I added that + the canned tomatoes}

2. Heat the olive oil in dutch oven pan on medium heat. Add the diced onions, garlic and bell pepper. Saute until tender.

 

3. If you have some white wine sitting around, you can deglaze the pan before adding the okra -- if you don't, no worries. Add the okra and turn up the heat to medium high and saute for 5 minutes.You want to cook out some of the slimy goo in the okra.

{Can you see the slimy stuff?}

4. Season with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp. of salt at this point). Add the can of diced tomatoes, bay leaf and the creole seasoning. Bring the heat down to a simmer, put a lid on the pot and let it marry for 15 minutes or even 30 minutes. I feel like the longer you let it simmer, the better the dish is.

 

{Since my garden didn't produce any tomatoes, I use the canned stuff.}

{All the players are happy in the pot.}

5. While the okra mixture is simmering, prep the shrimp. HEB had gulf shrimp on sale, so it only made sense that I use these little babies. Peel and devein the shrimp. If you like more shrimp, use more! 

 

6. After the simmering period, add the shrimp. Also add my secret ingredient: fish sauce! I know it sounds weird, but that bit of fish sauce rounds out the flavor and gives it that umami-ness that you're looking for. Do it! Let the pot simmer for another 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink -- don't cook it any longer. The residual heat in the pot will cook the shrimp even further when you turn off the heat after the 5 minutes.

{happy shrimp} 

7. When you're ready to serve it, put the cooked rice onto a plate and ladle on the stewed okra and tomatoes with shrimp! It's a meal in itself or you can do like me and serve it with a side of mashed potatoes (carbo overload!). Enjoy!

{This picture does not do the dish justice, but I'm posting it anyway.}

{Southern goodness y'all!}

Calily, Calily, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?

Ok, so it's not quite as catchy as "Mary, Mary, quite contrary," but at least my name ends with a Y!

As a gift for my 30th Birthday (crazy!), Micah and his parents decided to gift me with my own veggie garden! It's really the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it?

I've been talking about starting a garden for quite some time now, but never committed due to time, energy, and excuses. Now, I have no excuse but to turn my brown thumb into a green thumb... or else we won't be feasting on anything this summer.

The dirt in our backyard is not the best stuff to garden with, so we decided to get this raised garden bed and fill in with nutrient-rich garden soil (from Garden-Ville in Georgetown). The bed measures: 42 x 84 x 8. It's not huge, but it fits perfectly on the side of our house. If I like it, I can always get another garden box in the future.

{Garden setup: I have a soaker hose to regulate the water. This area of the house was basically a dead zone when it came to grass, so we decided to put the garden here. The area also gets FULL sun, hence why it's been so hard for the St. Augustine grass to grow. Why is it green now? Well, because that is leftover zoysia sod from our newly sodded front yard.}

 Once we got the dirt hauled in, Micah's parents helped me with the most important part: what to grow!

1. Plant in the left foreground is yellow bellpepper. The two other plants next to it are green hatch chiles. I guess I will be making tons of green chile this summer!

 

2. Yellow Squash! I thought this plant wasn't looking that healthy in the store, but wowzers, it's blooming like crazy! Squash blossoms!

 

3. Several rows of okra! I love okra and okra loves SUN so this was a perfect fit. Fried okra, stewed okra and tomatoes, okra in soups, okra in gumbo... so many options! Micah's parents gave me the good tip to leave the okra plants in the container they came in for one week before transplanting them to the garden. This gave the little guys a chance to get a little bit stronger before I shocked them into the garden.

4. Tomatoes! The one on the left is heirloom variety, the one on the right is a zebra tomato plant. The one on the left has some yellow leaves, so I put some extra compost around it and hopefully it gets more nitrogen. I hope it survives! The one on the right is a beast! I can't wait to cut into the juicy tomatoes!

5. Honeydew! This was the last plant to go in -- almost two weeks after the other items were planted. Micah chose this one. The plant hasn't been the strongest, but I think it's stronger and definitely growing. I wonder how the melon will turn out?

Here's hoping to a good growing season! I can't wait to have a bounty of veggies to cook with this summer!

The Birthday Boy!

I have a confession to make.

I never crave Indian food.

There, I said it. I know, how can I not LOVE Indian food?! I like everything! I've tried to explain it but I can't. I will eat it and enjoy it from time to time, but I won't go seeking it. I'm a weirdo.

On the flipside, Micah loves it.

Thankfully, there is a Masala Wok near us. It's a Chinese-Indian fusion place -- which placates both of us. He can have his Indian while I have a noodle dish (I can't help it, I crave noodles).

Because I'm such an awesome girlfriend -- oh, and the fact that today is Micah's BIRTHDAY! --  I decided to make chicken vindaloo (Micah's fave dish) as a pre-birthday dinner. 

I used this recipe from the Food Network but subbed chicken for the beef and added tons of veggies. I thought the recipe was a good base but since Micah likes his vindaloo a tad bit more tomatoey, I think I will add some tomato paste next time.

Chicken Vindaloo from Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

Wet Masala (Spice Blend):

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 (1-inch) pieces cinnamon bark
• 6 whole cloves
• 4 whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  
• 2 teaspoons paprika
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (more if you're feeling feisty!)
• 1 heaping tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste, recipe follows, or 6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped and 1-inch thumb fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
  
• 1 medium red onion, sliced very thinly
• 1 serrano pepper, sliced in half
• 2 pounds boneless beef top sirloin, trimmed of all excess fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

 

For the wet masala: In a small skillet over medium-high heat, toast the cumin seeds, cinnamon bark, cloves, and peppercorns until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour into a spice grinder and process until powdered. In a small food processor or blender, combine the toasted spice mix and the rest of the wet masala ingredients. Process until smooth.

 {L: Dry spices ready to mingle; R: Wet masala}

Place a large (preferably nonstick) pot over high heat and add the oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions and serrano pepper. Stirring frequently, saute the onions until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Don't let them burn! Turn the heat down to medium-high if they're starting to burn.

{red onions, serrano pepper, and I added some dried red chiles for a little extra heat}

Add the ground wet masala, taking care because it will sizzle wildly and steam up your glasses, if you wear them. Stir quite vigorously and turn down the heat if it's bubbling too furiously. Don't wash the food processor bowl yet. Keep stirring, with short pauses, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the masala comes together as one mass, about 2 minutes. Also, you may see little droplets of oil on the perimeter of the masala. That's a good sign!

{your house will smell like this pot for a few days}

Quickly add the meat and stir, coating the meat in the masala. Stir and cook about 5 minutes until the meat browns.

 {I added 3 red potatoes, 1 bell pepper, 1/2 onion, and 1 diced tomato to the pot two minutes after I added the cubed chicken} 

Remember that dirty food processor bowl? Fill it with 1 cup of hot water (from the tap is fine), swirl it around so it picks up any leftover masala, and pour that into the pot. Add salt and pepper, stir, bring the curry to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer. Cover and cook 30 minutes. Then cook with the lid ajar for another 10 minutes to thicken the gravy slightly. Check the meat at the end of the cooking time; it should be tender and not chewy at all. Adjust the salt if you like, and serve over rice or with chapatis (whole wheat griddle bread).

{hot and spicy! just the way Micah likes it!}

Happy Birthday Micah! Cheers!