Whole okras, by no means, are pretty vegetables (or fruits, cause that’s what the are). But, it’s an entirely different story once they are cut. To me they have the prettiest cross-section of any veggie or fruit that I have seen on my little red cutting board.

I like to know the history of food that cross my plate. My biggest surprise was not that okra is a fruit, but that it comes from the same mallow family as cotton and cocoa. Some of my favorite ways to eat okra: stir-fried with garlic, onions, and some Indian spices; Middle Eastern style stew with tomatoes; and in gumbos…yum!