Okra

I know okra has its detractors, but I am decidedly not one of them. Rather, I am an ardent fan of this digit-like, seedy, green member of the mallow family. Growing up in Louisiana, okra was a common guest at our dinner table: fried (coated in a light cornmeal batter), smothered (maybe with some onions), pickled (Talk o' Texas is my preferred brand of store-bought) and stewed (with tomatoes) were the most typical methods of cooking it, and I have since discovered the treat with which you're rewarded if you grill this humble pod. Several years ago, somewhere in the South -I think I was in a Whole Foods in TX- I came across another amazing way of treating okra: dried to a earthy green crisp-crunch, these "chips" are addictive. I've never seen them north of the Mason-Dixon, not even here in DC  though we are officially just south of it. But in Wilmington, NC, a few weeks back, I found them. Now down to my last few crumbs, I'm savoring them, sometimes alongside some pickled okra which is one of my all-time favorite goodies. If ever you come across these, snap them up and enjoy.