New experiences

Eating can be quite an adventure.  My friend has been dabbling in better food.  She's strung out on okra and since I took her daughter to Elevation, she's been more conscientious about beef.  Every time she takes a trip to Whole Foods, she calls me with the excitement of a kid in a candy store. 

On the other hand, my grandmother is desperately seeking fruit.  She has taken to eating canned fruit because "fresh" fruit is tasteless.  She keeps wondering what happened to food...why is it different than when she was growing up...I told her she needs to visit Whole Foods...the rutabagas aren't waxed and huge, and the produce is quite good...certainly worth the few cents extra per pound.  Part of the problem is that she relies on inner city produce and everyone knows that's second rate.  I feel kind of bad...we've enjoyed a range of fresh produce and it never occurred to me to pick something up for her...I thought she only ate bananas and cantaloupe...now I know that's because she doesn't bother with the rest of the crap.  I'm going to have to take her on an excursion. 

Tonight we had whiting, okra, and grits.  I used to do home fries and stewed tomatoes but this is much easier.  As a homage to stewed tomatoes, I cooked the okra in tomato paste base.  A friend stopped over, and wanted a piece of fish.  The house rules are you have to at least have a sample of every item so I told her she had to take 1 piece of okra and a teaspoon of grits. 

I explained some of the health benefits associated with okra - the "slime" has valuable fiber that helps regulate blood sugar, aids in digestion, and helps with weight loss.  Okra is also loaded with vitamins and helps with cholesterol.  Unfortunately okra has a reputation for being slimy so many people miss out on all this powerhouse veggie has to offer.