Okra and Tomato Soup



Hey - it's been a minute since my last post, but things are still going well.  I hope to post more in the coming days, weeks, months and years.

I have mentioned before that I have a kitchen garden that I try growing organic vegetables, I have had some luck with it.  Okra is something that grows very well in the $#!%%y mid-Atlantic clay that I have in my Falls Church backyard. Okra also freezes very well, so I have a freezer section that is full of 2 cup (5 oz) portions of okra.

Full disclosure - I LOVE OKRA, and I grew up in the deep South of the US where it is cooked a lot.  Some are put off by the 'slimy' quality that okra can have.  Having grown up with it I don't mind it - I like how it thickens anything it's added to, but some find it off-putting.  You can cut some of this by par-boiling okra for 3 minutes by itself before you add it to anything, but, to me, you may as well just go and make something else. AmIRight?

This 5-2 diet friendly soup is only about 150 kcal per serving, not bad!  I adapted this from a recipe in thespruce.com. Thanks, Spruce!

This makes about 4 healthy servings:

In a dutch oven or large pot, spritz the bottom with a good glaze of spray oil (I use peanut oil in a pump spray bottle), and heat to medium high, when the pan is hot, add
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and minced
  • 1 rib celery, sliced
Saute, the vegetables until the onions are translucent - about 4 or 5 minutes, then add - 

  • 1 heaping teaspoon Cajun Seasoning (your own or a commercial brand)
Coat the vegetables with the seasoning mixture and continue to saute for about a minute, then add - 
  • 2 cups chicken broth (or water, or vegetable broth)
  • 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 8 to 10 ounces okra, about 3 to 4 cups sliced, fresh or frozen, thawed
  • 1 cup corn kernels (fresh, canned, or frozen thawed)
Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the okra is cooked, but not falling apart, if it's too thick add a 1/2 cup of water and test the consistency.  Enjoy!

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