Summer Okra

There were two things I was most excited about in our garden.  Cherry Tomatoes and Okra.  Our cherry tomatoes never grew and we had to pull them up after about a month.  So then all my hopes went to our okra.  My dad always brings us the best okra from his garden all summer long.   All through the spring I was looking forward to having our own fresh okra.  By the end of June we just barely had tiny sprigs coming out for our okra.  I thought it was just because we planted our garden a little late and had high expectations for the rest of the summer.  Finally towards the end of July our okra plants looked like they were finally big enough to start producing okra.  Everyday I went out to check and still no okra, but it was promising.  Then one day we came home and as I am getting the kids out of the car I hear Murray yelling at something.  I walk around the corner and see that the deer have eaten half of the okra plants!  I could not believe it.  There were a few stalks left, so I did not loose all hope.  

The other day Murray came home and told Ella he had a big surprise for Mommy.  He pulled out one okra pod out of his grocery bag.  It was a little sad how excited I got for that one okra pod.  Since then, we have had two more.  So, 3 total okra pods :)  Hopefully we will have a few more.  

Since we did not have enough of our own, I had to break down and buy okra from the grocery store.  One of my favorite foods of the summer is grilled okra!  If you have not tried it, you should!  All you need is a grill pan, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Such a delicious treat of the summer.  Tonight Murray and I sat outside while he grilled the chicken and okra and we were not suffocating from the heat!  I don't know if the break in heat is here to stay, but we are soaking it up!  We had the best evening walk, it was only 88 degrees and felt like no humidity.  Who would have thought 88 degrees would feel cool?  Then after the kids went to bed we sat on the deck, had a glass of wine and enjoyed the nice summer evening while our delicious okra cooked on grill.  (the picture does not do the okra justice, my camera battery just died so I had to use my phone)