Now, I’m the first to admit, okra isn’t always my favorite. Having grown up in the south, I had my share of disgusting boiled okra, so slimy that my dad claimed he didn’t eat it (or oysters) because, in his words: “I don’t like anything in my mouth I don’t have control over.”

That said, in the last few years, I’ve been treated to a whole different view of okra, thankfully, one that involves delicate and sophisticated preparation that bears no resemblance to that gelatinous mush of my youth. Victor made fried okra for me last year that had a beautiful light breading of Indian spices – coriander, fennel and cardamom – that I still get cravings for. True enough, I love all of those spices so it might be the spice mixture, but also, it rendered the okra crispy and succulent, and made it the perfect carrier for those spices, maybe even enhancing them with its earthy, nutty flavor.

Okra seemed to be the star produce of the week. At the Morningside Farmers’ Market on Saturday, the demo was by the Cooks’ Warehouse: Curried Okra and Okra Cakes by Gloria Smiley, with tsatsiki sauce. And at the Freedom Farmers’ Market, chef Jason Zygmont, of Athens restaurant Five and Ten, also worked with okra, making a delectable roasted okra with blackberries!!! Yes, you read that right: blackberries. So luscious, and transformative to both the okra and the fruit. And I brought it home to share with Victor, so it was cold by the time we had it, and it didn’t suffer a bit for it. I had bought okra from Crystal Organic Farm, and also from D&A, and thought it’s providence. Definitely an okra night for potluck.

So, with Victor’s fried okra from last year dancing in my head, I set out to make the okra cakes but infuse them with that sweet heady spice mixture. I can never leave well-enough alone, plus I’m a tad bit indecisive, and that curried okra sounded good too. The result? Indian spiced okra cakes, made with our very local Lovebird Eggs (so local, they’re across the street!). They were insanely easy to make, and just yummy. And to accompany, instead of the traditional tsatsiki the recipe called for, I decided to try and make something akin to that, but without the dairy, since I didn’t have yogurt anyway, and didn’t feel like getting out to get any. Plus, I’ve been trying to lean vegan, so I’m working to veganize as many recipes as possible, just to get some practice in. I had gotten some soy yogurt, but it was a little sweet, so I added garlic and salt, in addition to the requisite cucumber – amazing lemon cucumbers were what I had on hand, and I’m in love with these! But it still needed something, so I looked around for something else creamy but savory: avocado! That did the trick. It was just the right mix, and I had enough left to dip into the rest of the week, a little at a time!

Here’s the rest of the line-up:

• Assorted cheeses (of course) courtesy of Victor
• Blueberry conserve from garden wild blueberries (Marcia)
• Raw Squash blossoms stuffed with cashew cheese with semi-dried pomodorini (me again. told you I had time on my hands!)
• Spaghetti squash tossed with pesto (Ellen & James)
• Lime, thai basil and ginger granita (Cornelia)
• Eggplant, okra, tomato and corn casserole (Sam)
• Salad of grapes, tomatoes, blue cheese, peaches, and pecans with mango vinaigrette, on a bed of romaine (Tina)
• Lemon risotto with squash, zucchini, beans, and pecorino cheese (Dayle)
• Quinoa, zucchini, fennel, green apple, cilantro toss (Christine)
• Roadkill Melon w tomato, cucumber, parley and pinenuts (Harriet – more on the roadkill below*)
• Cucumber, sour cream and dill salad (Colleen & Gene)
• Caprese salad (Colleen & Gene)
• Steamed kale w onions (Judy & David)
• Indian-spiced okra cakes

* Harriet had a watermelon growing in her garden, and had been watching it for a while, waiting for it to get just ripe enough. It was getting pretty big… and then it disappeared! She thought some critter had absconded with it and was cursing it for making off with her prize. But then, she found the real culprit – the melon itself! It had gotten so large and heavy that it dropped off the plant, and then proceeded to roll down her very steep driveway into the road (Lindbergh Drive, a well-travelled thoroughfare), where it became… well, roadkill! Harriet found the carcass and discovered that there was a good chunk still intact. She fought off the ants to salvage just enough to incorporate into the salad!

It always amazes us how well the dinner all comes together, with no planning or coordination on anyone’s part! And because we all shop locally at our farmers’ markets, there’s frequently overlap in the ingredients, but rarely in the preparation, which makes for a really wonderful opportunity to compare and contrast dishes, and to garner inspiration for next time.

We should start cataloging the wines people bring as well. I paired the okra cakes with a lovely rosé we got from Highland Wines.