Embracing the Slime

Signs of Fall are all around… still a little subtle but not too hard to spot. There is a bit of color now in the dogwood trees, and the plumes of goldenrod, which is one of the last flowers to bloom, sway gently in the breeze.

The sun has shifted in the sky and shadows are long. The hummingbirds were still here yesterday, but I haven’t seen one today, so I believe they have finally headed South for the winter.

It is approaching 90 degrees today, so it is certainly warm enough even if the days are getting so much shorter. Even so, the growing season is just about over.

The tomatoes in our bucket garden are on their last legs. There are a few green ones left that should ripen okay before the first frost. The jalapeño and bell pepper plants and the two okra plants that survived the groundhog have not gotten the message and continue to flower and produce.

I imagine okra is one of those vegetables that people either like or don’t like (well, I suppose that could be said of any vegetable, come to think of it), and then the issue of the slime.

To “slime or not to slime,” that is the question. I like the slime and have enjoyed the okra in Cape Verde Vegetable Soup originally from the “Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant” cookbook. Richard prefers it coated in cornmeal and fried. It’s great either way. The flower is gorgeous.

 I have a nice bag full in the freezer, which will be good for several meals down the road.