Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

One of the things I remember most about eating at my grand parents home in St Louis, Mo is the  stewed okra and tomatoes. They always served a profusion of garden fresh vegetables at lunch and dinner. There were green beans, summer squash, corn-on-the-cob and what ever else was in season. One of my favorite dishes was grandma’s fresh cut okra cooked with onions and tomatoes. She used fresh tomatoes that tasted nothing like today’s grocery store impostors.

These were deep red, large and juicy ones that whenever grandpa took me to the garden for picking veggies we would stop for a break at the tomato vines. He would take out his knife and cut us each one of the most beautiful tomatoes on the vine and produce form his pocket a salt shaker. He would cut our tomatoes in half and hand me the salt, and we would eat them with juice running down our chins splattering the ground. It was heavenly! Okra and tomatoes come into season at the same time making them a perfect match.

If you can’t get good fresh tomatoes don’t worry. Canned tomatoes will do the job and are usually better than the grocery store fresh tomatoes. Be sure and serve fresh corn-on-the-cob with this at dinner and maybe grilled chicken for a meal that can’t be beat.

2 cups okra cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup diced onions
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
optional, add 1/2 cup Sun Gold, or Sweet Million cherry tomatoes cut in half for a bit of sweetness.

Heat a 3-4 quart pot with 1/4 cup water until simmering and add onions.

Cook for 5 minutes stirring often.

Add tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes.

Add rest of water and cook on medium low heat for 20-30 minutes covered or until okra is tender. Stir every 4-5 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

serves four

Note: add more water if needed, as it should be saucy not dry