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Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Did you ever wonder what the words to the song, "Jimbalaya" meant?'Jimbalaya and the coffee's fine and a File Gumbo', goes this catchy tune. File, a powder made from sassafras, is another ingredient in the gumbo. Live a little! Start growing - and EATING hibiscus!

Known as Okra, Ochro, Okoro, Quimgombo, Quingumbo, Ladies Fingers, Gombo, Kopi Arab, Kacang Bendi, Bhindi (S. Asia), Bendi (Malaysia), Bamia, Bamya or Bamieh (middle east) or Gumbo (Southern USA). In Portugal and Angola, okra is known as Quiabo (plural: Quiabos), and in Cuba, as "quimbombo". In Japan it is known as okura.

A tall-growing, warm-season, annual vegetable from the same family as hollyhock, rose of Sharon and hibiscus.

Taken to the West Indies in slave ships from the Congo, okra is a highly adaptable annual which will thrive wherever maize will flourish. It is not a temperamental plant and will grow in a hot, dry climate. One of the best green vegetable to grow in the hot summer in the tropics.

The hibiscus like flowers and upright plant (3 to 6 feet or more in height) have ornamental value for backyard gardens.

The flower, very similar to the ornamental garden variety of hibiscus, is yellow with a reddish centre. Each flower blooms for only one day and eventually forms one okra pod.When the blossum has dropped off, the resulting pod, about 3 inches in length, green with ridges and with tasty white seeds, is a delectable vegetable when picked young.

The plants bear fruit over several months - so it is not a case of feast or famine with the dependable okra. In the tropics where green vegetables are not abundant, it is a welcome addition to the diet. On the island of St Croix in the West Indies, it is lovingly referred to as 'Cruzan asparagus'.

In Turkey, in the vicinity of Istanbul, it is grown on a large scale. The dried seeds can be used as a substitute for coffee. In the Middle East, the fruit and leaves have long been used as herbal remedies in poultices to relieve stubborn infected swellings.

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.

Okra usually grows well in any good garden soil. Shallow cultivation near the plants keeps down weeds.

Most varieties will start yielding about 60 days after planting.

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 often—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 pickle or freeze some for winter use.

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.

Okra seed does not keep well. Buy fresh organic 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.

In the southern United States it is one of the main ingredients of gumbo, a stew-y concoction made with prawns and crabs which reaches the peak of perfection in the finest restaurants of Old New Orleans.

Did you ever wonder what the words to the song, "Jimbalaya" meant?

'Jimbalaya and the coffee's fine and a File Gumbo', goes this catchy tune. File, a powder made from sassafras, is another ingredient in the gumbo.

The word okra is a corruption of the word nkruman, the name for this plant in the chief language of the African Gold Coast. The word gumbo is derived from the African word ngombo, which means a soup thickened with the pods of the okra.

To cook the okra (young, organic, tender pods) simply wash, put in the top of a double boiler and lightly steam. It should be cooked as little as possible, with low heat or lightly steamed. When tender, serve as is or with organic butter, celtic salt and organic pepper. If boiled in water it will tend to develop a consistency of mucillage which is not pleasant. Or steamed pods marinated in french or horseradish dressing makes a tasty salad.

Gumbos, Brunswick stew, and pilaus are some well-known dishes which frequently use okra. Okra can be served raw, marinated in salads or cooked on its own, It is a great companion of tomatoes and capsicums (bell pepper), onions, corn, and eggplant. Whole, fresh okra pods also make excellent pickles. Its mild flavour can be compared to eggplant, though the texture is somewhat unusual.

Okra is a tasty addition to vegetable quiche, stir fry, casseroles or soup. In soups just sliced and added with the vegetables. In this case the mucillage tendency is a boon in thickening the soup.

Fried okra (sliced and dredged in organic coconut flour, salt and pepper) pan fried in organic coconut oil is a real delight. Or rolled in cornmeal and celtic salt, fried in extra virgin olive or organic coconut oil, or unrefined coconut butter.

For the calorie-conscious okra is good news - only 28 calories in eight pods, a normal serving.

A good source of fibre and vitamin C, niacin, *folate, potassium and magnesium.

Live a little! Start growing - and EATING hibiscus!

*1/2 cup cooked okra contains about 42 micrograms of folate. An increased maternal folate consumption in at least the month before and 3 months following conception may reduce the risk of foetal neural tube defects. It is wise for women planning a pregnancy to consume a minimum of 400ug folate per day in at least the month prior to conception and at least 3 months following conception.