At Tri Cycle Farms, we believe that the best way to get kids excited about eating healthy foods is to involve them in the process. Earlier this Fall, I spent an afternoon with six kids from The Little Village, a local after-school program led by a member of our very own board. First, we went out into the garden and harvested okra. The kids quickly learned that teamwork would be necessary, since our okra plants are 6-12 feet tall. One kid would gently pull the plant down, another would use the scissors to cut the okra pod off the plant, and another would put the okra in a bucket.
As it turns out, harvesting all the okra at Tri Cycle takes a long time, so we had to cook the okra another day. A few days later, we had our chance. Some of the kids had handled a knife before, and others hadn’t, so we had some kids using knives to slice the okra, and others used scissors. We decided to try okra four ways: pickled, sauteed, roasted, and fried. I had made some pickled okra earlier in the week, so it was up to six kids and two adults to prepare the other three recipes.
The roasted okra was sliced longways, tossed in a little bit of olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, arranged in one layer on a pan, and placed in a 425 degree oven for around 20 minutes. The results were delicious! The okra took on a nutty and slightly sweet flavor, and it had a silky texture.
For the sauteed okra, the pods were clipped with scissors into ½-1 inch pieces. Olive oil was heated in a skillet on the stovetop, and the okra was added, along with some onions and peppers. We stirred every once in awhile until the okra became soft, and we seasoned with salt and pepper. The finished product had great flavor, but we agreed it was had more of a “slimy” texture than the roasted okra.
The fried okra was where everyone’s creativity could shine through. I set out all of our herbs and spices and gave each kid a bag of breadcrumbs for them to season. We had some adventurous cooks in the kitchen! We had fried okra seasoned with cinnamon, curry, and turmeric, and it was all delicious. We were just finishing up the frying as the kids’ parents arrived, so the parents were able to sample the fare as well.
We had a great time cooking okra in the kitchen, and I think we all learned something. Hopefully the kids learned a little bit about harvesting and cooking okra, and the adults learned that kids can be great cooks!
