Un-meh.

[gothwalk]

Universe Controller 1: Look, Drew's apathetic.
Universe Controller 2: Can't have that. Let's throw a few shapes at him.

I just got another call from the Mysterious Southern Caller. The entire content of the call was "Life is better with oak-rah". Now, apart from the whole who the fuck IS this guy question, I now also have, what the hell is "oak-rah"?

But, uh, cheers, whoever you are. I am no longer apathetic.

(There are sugegstions that what he actually said was "Oprah", but no, I don't think so - Southern accent, plenty of time to work out what the sounds are before the sentence is finished.)

[EDIT: iresprite tells me the word is "okra", a food eaten in the Southern US, and consisting of "long mucilaginous green pods". Now, unless I miss my English, that's "green slimy pod things". Life is better with green slimy pod things, eh?]

Comments

Okra

[cheerfulcynic.livejournal.com]

Is something vegetably that you eat, I think.

[hotcoffeems.livejournal.com]

Okra!

And yes, life is better with okra, particularly fried okra, but I swear it was not me who called you.

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

iresprite's been on AIM to tell me the same, or at least what it is. I remain unconvinced, given the description he gave. I shall have to try it at some point.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Okra's terrible. And slimy. The only way to make it edible is to bread it and deep-fry it, and *most* things are edible that way.
It's also an important ingredient in the Cajun stew called gumbo. It's okay in gumbo--thickens the stew, I guess, and you can't really taste the okra because gumbo's so spicy.

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

That could help anyone's day, I should think.

[juanfandango.livejournal.com]

Eees really good een encheelladas. When I am een the deeep south I have greets een my encheelladas, too.

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

What ARE grits, anyway, while we're on the subject?

[jadegirl.livejournal.com]

Technically, they're a grain mush. Some people eat them with butter and salt, some with suger and cream.

In reality, they're rather...weird.

Jade

[hotcoffeems.livejournal.com]

Hominy, ground-up corn. Grits are white and granular. They look not unlike Cream of Wheat if you are familiar with that. They're a kind of mush-like product.

They may be served with a variety of toppings, sweet or savory, but most commonly butter. If you go to a Waffle House here, you will eat grits. Anything else would be heresy.

[iresprite.livejournal.com]

Cornmeal mixed in with bits of meat. Very greasy, iirc. Pretty good stuff.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_21989,00.html

[torea.livejournal.com]

grits, too, are a horrid southern abomination...well, okay, they're not actually *that* bad. i used to eat them mixed with "cream of wheat" and they were pretty tasty. ;)

i'm like this weird mutant freak who lives in the south but probably shouldn't be. :D

[elorie.livejournal.com]

Okra rules. If you like asparagus, you'll probably like okra. If not...

I want to make shrimp and grits sometime soon...

[akozorez.livejournal.com]

Mmm... Could he have been referring to Ofra--Ofra Haza--(a beautiful Israeli singer who had died of AIDS a few years back)? :)

Oh, and I do second the opinion that okra is actually quite delicious when prepared just the right way. May be this man is opening up an okra plantation and is trying out his new-found marketing techniques on unsuspecting random dwellers with exciting slogans?

[yendi]

Okra is wonderful! The key is, you must fry the slimy pod things (although I think they taste fine cooked otherwise, too, but fried is the most common way of serving okra). Whoever called you was right.

[fornorald.livejournal.com]

I like 'em boiled, though not many do. I guess the texture puts people off.

[iresprite.livejournal.com]

Dig it, man. Even within my own country there are major cultural/culinary divides. Okra just sopunds creepy. *grins*

I semi-enjoy asparagus (esp. wrapped in bacon), so maybe I might semi-enjoy okra.

How's the blowtorch, yendi? I just made some excellent creme brulee with mine.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

Frozen okra is OK. Canned okra is pure nastiness.

I have not tried fresh okra, being a Northern sort of chick.

[crimmycat.livejournal.com]

absolutely true. Canned okra is like canned cream corn - blech.

Now, fresh okra is good, and frozen okra is also good. Fried okra - usually breaded and then fried - is very good.

okra is often added as both a veggie and a thickener - it's a vital component of gumbo. (the dish)

here: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/okra1.html

now grits, those are indeed ground corn. Prepared like oatmeal, though the texture could be called similar to cream of wheat. It's a breakfast thing; you can eat with butter and a pinch of salt, or sugar, or whatever you'd put on your oatmeal. (Though it's also a side dish for other meals, and if you make cheese grits, that's a dinner thing, but I ramble)

My favorite topping for grits: raisins and brown sugar mixed in, and then milk poured on top to cool it, and 'cause it just tastes good.

Grits congeal into a solid lump, much like oatmeal, if left alone - this can be cut up and fried in a tasty fat (bacon being the most common) for another breakfast treat.

too much information yet?

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

Never too much information about food.

[torea.livejournal.com]

uuuuuugggggghhh...i'm from the deep south and i swear okra is of the devil. i won't touch the nasty stuff. although...my mother tells a torrid tale of me having "loved" fried okra as a child. but i'm sure she must be lying!! ;)