Baked Okra

“Is that okra? Pardon me.”

(riff on what Caroline said when we brought the brie dip.)

ingredients
directions
found HERE.

our comments
The 1 TABLEspoon of salt made this a bit too salty for us. We recommend lowering that amount and adding some cayenne pepper to kick it up a bit. You can use fake buttermilk (Add 1 Tbsp vinegar–white or apple cider– to 1 cup milk; let stand for 5 minutes; use.), but there is no substitute for Panko and it makes these crunchy. These things are addictive! We’ve made them 3 times in one month. They are perfect as a leftover snack–no heating required.

Granita

Strawberry/Blueberry/Cantaloupe Granita

“It’s fresssssh.”

(Giada)

inspiration
Giada

ingredients
Simple Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
(if making a smaller granita, therefore needing less syrup, use a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar)

Fruit*
½ cups fresh mint  leaves, packed, divided
1 large cantaloupe melon, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups)
1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
lime zest
(small) amount of clear adult beverage (optional)
*or use any combination of strawberries, blueberries, and/or whateverberries that mush up and freeze well. (see our comments)

directions
Simple Syrup
Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium. (You can add some mint leaves to this as well.) Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. (If adding mint, strain before using.)

Fruit
In a blender or with an immersion blender, puree fruit, lime juice, and lime zest until desired consistency. Slowly add the cooled syrup, until the right sweetness is achieved. Stir in chopped mint leaves and clear adult beverage if using. Pour mixture into a 9x13x2″ glass baking dish (use a dish to fit the amount of fruit so that granita is about 1″ to 1 ½” deep) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight. Throughout the freezing, use a fork to scrape and stir the granita to prevent it from freezing too solidly. Serve chopped.

our comments
This is a summer staple for us! It is an excellent Brain Freeze!
Simple Syrup truly is simple. (You can store the extra in the refrigerator for a few days.) We have made this with a variety of fruits…but the irony is Giada calling this “Fresssssh,” as our best advice is to use fruit that is ripe. My Caymanian grandmother always said, “You eat fruit when it is fit. When it is ripe, it is too fit.” I love to do this recipe with cantaloupe that has gone too mushy but still has good flavor; the cantaloupe then has a creaminess about it that is divine. Strawberries that have gone too far also work well for this. And blueberries, ahhhh, so good. Of course, you can use fit fruit, too!

What ripe fruit do you have?