{Recipe Alert: bringing New Orleans to Cincy}

This past weekend was The Essence Music Fest in New Orleans. I would have loved to been there experiencing all the music acts and catching up with some of the natural hair seminars and LOVING on my family.

I couldn't make it so instead I brought New Orleans, at least the food, to me!

fresh picked okra from our garden box

my okra battered and fried

Fried Okra Recipe: wash and cut fresh okra into 1/2" pieces. Soak okra in a 1/3 cup buttermilk for 10 minutes. Drain okra and toss in a premixed bowl of flour, cornmeal, cayenne, garlic powder, salt, pepper, thyme, basil--and any other seasoning you prefer. Preheat 1/2 cup of canola oil in a cast iron skillet. Drop floured okra in hot oil and cook until brown. Pull out with slotted spoon and rest on paper towels.

Sprinkle with a little salt.

Serve warm.

Shrimp Creole

This is such an easy meal.

Shrimp Creole Recipe: chop 1 large onion and 1/2 bunch of celery. Place in dutch oven and cover with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Saute covered for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add 24 oz an of chopped tomatoes, 3 Tbsp of tomato paste, 3 ozs of tomato sauce, and 2 tbsp of creole seasoning of your choice. Add some 3 cloves of chopped garlic,  fresh parsley, thyme and a pinch of oregano. I like to add a splash of white wine and a pinch of sugar to tame the acidity of the tomatoes. Simmer for 40 minutes adding 1-2lbs of peeled and devined shrimp the last 10 minutes.

Serve over rice (we prefer brown).

To give it some extra heat but not to increase the heat in the whole pot I add a couple splashes of hot sauce per bowl and topped off with a parsley spring.

If you try these recipes let me know how they turn out!

ENJOY!

xoxo,

Ronita