Well I needed to come on here and blog a little. Just to get my thoughts out in the open. I want to start off by saying that I'm pretty proud of myself =] I'm not trying to be prideful in any way... but today I cooked something that was totally out of my element. But before I tell you what I cooked, let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I come from a Korean American family. We grew up eating either Korean food or Steak and potatoes. I never learned to cook. I don't know why, because my older sister Sherry was cooking by the time she was ten and she's always been an amazing cook.
My mom has always told me that the only thing I knew how to do was "sit pretty", but since I got married I have learned a few things.
For example, I no longer cook with a Fry Daddy! When I first got married, I would deep fry everything and man did my hubby pack on some weight. Since then I have learned that it's better to bake something rather than deep fry and if you are going to deep fry you should use Olive oil or Canola Oil. I've learned how to make awesome New Mexican food *this is different than Mexican food, or even California Mexican food* This is important to me since my husband grew up in New Mexico and LOVES the style of food they have here.
Fast forward 8 years, and I realized tonight that "hey, I'm not a bad cook." I'm not the most creative or the most dynamic cook, I'm not even the most daring cook. But what I cook, generally taste's good, sometimes even fantastic :)
Last week I went to the Farmer's market, which was a first time for me, and they had a lot of different vegetables that I've never seen. Well there was one stand that was selling Okra. Now, I've only had Okra in restaurants. Usually fried, but I have had it in a gumbo soup as well. I'm not a big vegetable eater, but I do like fried okra. So I decided to buy some.
Today my husband asked what I was making for dinner and I told him Chicken breast and Fried Okra. He was a little apprehensive because he always thought that Okra was one of those things that you either KNOW how to make really well, or you don't. He asked me if I looked it up online to see how to cook it and I said no. :)
I knew the basics of how to clean and cut it, and I decided to deep fry it. I used a tempura batter and added some seasoning. Can I just say that it came out AWESOME! The kids loved it, I loved it and my husband loved it. I saved some and gave it to my little sister and told her to re fry it for just a short time to reheat it and serve it hot. She said that her and her husband really really enjoyed it. So I have to say that I was proud of myself. I stepped out of my element and tried something new and it came out great. It wasn't slimy at all, nice and crunchy. This may seem like such a small thing to some, but for me it gave me a confidence boost and reminded me that it's okay to step out and try new things. Even if it would have come out poorly, I tried and that's what's important!
2 comments:
Wow Esther! I've never tried to make any kind of okra! I am the only one that would like it, I think. I used to always order it at Cracker Barrel. Good job sis. I am proud of you.
Mmmmmmm! I love fried okra! We just do it up in the skillet with flour and corn meal. I've always seen it battered and deep fried, but honestly have never eaten it that way. No matter how you do it, it's a great vegetable loaded with fiber! We also LOVE pickled okra. Yummy! Good job for trying something new and congrats on a success in the kitchen!
P.S. Trina found me one of those sundresses at Burke's last night! Yay!
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