Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Southern Comfort

Rarely ever do I rush home from work to make a recipe I saw on a blog that same day. I'm a crazy planner, and few things in my life are ever spontaneous. In fact, spontaneity gives me anxiety. I plan my meals two weeks in advance to prevent "oh my god, what am I going to eat next Thursday?" freakouts.

But sometimes rush decisions are just meant to be. Over the weekend, my Granny gave me a big ole bag of red and green tomatoes and some fresh okra from her neighbor's garden. Since my meals were already planned out, I knew I'd have to make some adjustments to work these fresh veggies in, and I was sort of prepared to do that yesterday when I stumbled onto John P's blog post on The I-40 Kitchen about Fried Okra, Green Tomatoes, and Tofu:

See, I was MEANT to make this! I had all the ingredients at home, so no after-work trips to the grocery store were necessary. Thanks John P, for being there when I needed you.

The dish is similar to how my Mama makes fried green tomatoes (diced and coated with cornmeal and flour), but with added okra and cubed tofu. It's all tossed with a little flour, cornmeal, chickpea flour, salt, and Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning, and then fried in oil until crispy.

John P doesn't provide measurements for his recipe because he just throws everything together. So I guessed at everything and it turned out just fine — 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup cornmeal, and 1/4 cup chickpea flour, salt and Cajun seasoning liberally. Oh, and about three tablespoons of oil. I served the dish with my Mama's leftover dumplins and greens.

Are you a meal planner? Or a spontaneous cook?

15 comments:

Susan said...

I'm a planner for sure. Lately I haven't been able to plan as far ahead as I normally do, and find myself panicking to try and write a shopping list for the next day. I like knowing what I'm making in advance.

KitteeBee said...

I wouldn't call myself a spontaneous person, but I don't plan meals ever. Unless we're having folks over for some occasion.

xo
kittee

JohnP said...

I'm glad you liked it!

jessy said...

i'm gonna have to check out his blog - thanks, Bianca! the fried okra, green maters 'n 'fu looks crazy awesome! and you're right - you were meant to make this dish (i rarely have everything on hand.). so much southern comfort deliciousnesses these days....soooooo yummmmm!

MeloMeals said...

Oh that looks and sounds delicious.. I am a super spontaneous person with food.. I rarely know what I'll be eating at the next meal.. and sometimes I start to prepare a meal and then change what I'm doing mid cooking!

Jody said...

i like to be spontaneous! but my job as an elementary teacher and my responsibilities at home do not leave me that luxury right now. however....i do try and visit the farmer's market on saturday before i make my list for shopping and use what i discover there as a guide!

The Health Sensei said...

i plan pretty much every meal, but end up with a hole burning in my pocket w/ money so i overspend and sometimes have to re-plan the meals...lol

great looking meal too, bianca!

and_i_say said...

I actually thought of you when I saw that recipe! Funny that you made it immediately.

Allysia said...

I might not be as intense of a planner as you are, but I do plan meals about 5 days ahead. It makes me edgy when I don't know what I'm going to make (like today, actually - complete mystery), especially when I've made a pact to blog every day for a month!

Alan Roettinger said...

Wow--I never would have imagined you as such a serious a planner! You seem so spontaneous (maybe your control side comes out when you cook?). I always plan ahead when I'm cooking for clients, and often when I'm having guests. The rest of the time it's all from the hip (even when I've bought specific ingredients for a specific dish). I rely heavily on the kitchen gods, the power of creativity, and my long years of experience--all of which add up to a seriously enjoyable time in the kitchen! The kitchen gods in particular have a way of derailing my original intentions, pulling me away and into unforeseen adventures (they pretty much hate plans).

Leslie Richman said...

Yummy! I semi-plan, but can be spontaneous just as easily. Trying to stick more to a plan now for budgetary reasons!

Babette said...

Sounds good. I love it when I check a recipe and I have everything to make it, so no grocery trips.

I'm sort of a meal planner. I mean, I don't plan weeks in advance, but I most often already know what I'll be eating the following day.

Anonymous said...

Spontaneous planner if that makes any sense...

Anonymous said...

Spontaneous planner if that makes any sense...

Germaine S Gordon said...

Glad to see another meat free southerner. Check me out at www.southernvegchronicles.com