Wordless Wednesday: I Dream of Fried Okra

HI, MY NAME IS ANN. I LOVE CORNMEAL BREADED OKRA BECAUSE IT REMINDS ME OF MY CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH. Every summer our family was rich with vegetables. If we didn’t grow them, then one of our friends or neighbors did. We ate platefuls of vegetables every night. We were organic before the term was even coined. Most nights the vegetables were steamed or baked, but on the night when my Dad got out the cast iron pan we all knew that fried okra, squash, and green tomatoes were coming our way. We would eagerly await as each batch came out of the pan and onto a paper towel covered plate. It was amazingly crispy and surprisingly light. It was nothing like the prefab veggies you get in ‘country’ restaurants today. It was the real deal.

The night before school started I decided to put some love into our family meal and cook the yellow squash and okra in my b-i-g cast iron pan. I used cornmeal breading like my parents had taught me. My husband decided to cook the zucchini Italian style using breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasonings. He had recently been on a business trip to Chicago and had the chance to visit his cousins there before flying back. They got his taste buds hungry for more of that delicious taste. He cooked his zucchini creations in the pan after me. We slaved over a hot stove on a summer day while the kids got their bedclothes on after a swim. It was an act of love – we were craving the items that we so rarely cook. We wanted to share that on the night before they started their new school year.

Divine in our minds.

My kids are not picky eaters. In fact, they eat most any vegetable, fruit, or meat I put in front of them. (Well, my oldest hates hamburger, but will eat $teak…imagine that!) So we fixed their plates and got everyone settled into the meal. And then it happened:

“What’s this?”

“Vegetables?”

“Why did you fry this? We like it grilled. Can you take this coating off?”

“Ugh, how could you mess up a nice squash like that?”

Grace and Jordan finally decided they liked Dave’s Italian breading, but none of them even wanted to try the squash and okra. It wasn’t because it was strange to them or that they hated vegetables. They just dislike FRIED vegetables.

And though my first reaction was to call them crazy…really crazy SOUTHERN kids, I decided that I should hush. My kids were unfamiliar with the fried veggies because we hardly ever fix them in the traditional Southern style.

They prefer grilled, steamed, stir-fried, roasted, broiled, or raw. Amazing.

My Wordless Wednesdays are hardly ever wordless…but I love sharing everyone’s midweek fun. For more inspiring photos, check: 5 Minutes for Mom, High Impact Mom, The Bonafide Life,Shanamama, From Dates to Diapers, Not Your Mom Blog, The Divine Miss Mommy, Colorado Moms, Rajean Blomquist and Zensible Mama and link your own photo stories.

Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over.

Are you playing along with Wordless or Wordful Wednesday today? Link up!