Puttin' up the Okra... thank you Candy...

At lunch last week... Candy prompted me to think about putting up some of the Okra we've been harvesting and eating.... every day... So here ya go Candy... this one is especially for you! (I really don't like the sliminess of Okra when preparing it for canning or freezing... which is why I needed Candy's prompt.)

I usually "size" my Okra in 3-categories before canning... small for frying; medium for using in stews etc.; large for seeds...

After sizing, I "sort" the Okra for parboiling/blanching... same size equals same cooking time..

"Cap" them and "tip" them with a sharp pruning knife without cutting into the seed pod.

Place into boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes (depending on size). Make sure lid is tight fitting in order to keep the water boiling.

As soon as parboiling/blanching time is up, immediately douse Okra into ice water to stop cooking process.

After cooling for 3-5 minutes... drain in colendar and then...
Let Okra dry on clean dish towel until you have enough parboiled/blanched and ready to prepare for the freezer.

If you are going to be frying your Okra, you can coat with a mixture of cornmeal and flour prior to freezing.

Cut your Okra and coat with cornmeal mixture...

Spread in one layer on a baking sheet and freeze for about 2-hours in deep freeze...

These Okra are the mid-size that I use for stews... same process except for cutting and coating... just pop into the freezer before bagging... you want them to freeze separately...

Don't forget to label your freezer bags... use a straw to "suck out" all the extra air before sealing...

Whole Okra, frozen and ready for stews this fall...

and Okra frozen and ready for frying for Ricky this fall...

So now you know... that's some of what I've been up to down here in French Lique...

a note about parboiling/blanching: Vegetables are often parboiled/blanched prior to freezing or canning to help preserve the food by slowing down or halting enzyme action that causes foods to break down, losing color, flavor, and nutritional value. Vegetables stored this way will stay as good as fresh for up to about 14 months in your deep freeze... and that is why I go to "all that trouble"...

Fresh from the Farm... down here in French Lique...

I don't know about you.. but one of my favorite things to eat in the summer is homegrown tomatoes. Like these, sliced just right... all you need is a little salt and pepper and a fork!

Ricky "picks" the garden every evening... right now... mostly tomatoes and okra... he loves fried okra... Ricky "picks"... I wash... dry and wipe off... then sort... the okra gets refrigerated in a "green bag" until we have a "mess enough to cook"...

The tomatoes get set aside in an open cardboard box to continue to ripen...

and after Donna's comment below, about freezing tomatoes... I had to show you this photo... when we get too many ripened, and we've given some to everyone on our list... I freeze them whole by laying on a baking sheet in the freezer, then pop them individually into freezer bags... for use later... when tomatoes are out of season... great for use in cooking anything calling for canned tomatoes! and this past weekend... it was time to harvest the potatoes...
This is about 150-pounds of Irish Potatoes... Ricky's favorite...
He was quite proud of these big fellas... so he measured them...
and he photographed them... so he could show the boys at work... and now they're laying out to dry for a few days... then they'll be put into burlap feed sacks and stored under the house till it comes time to eat...
My Ricky... he's a pretty darn good farmer... amongst other things...

down here in French Lique...