Treasured Alabama Recipes

On the Lucindaville site for Famous Food Friday we featured Southern Cooking To Remember by Alabama author, Kathryn Tucker Windham. Her first book was a cookbook, Treasured Alabama Recipes. The book is divided into several sections featuring various geographic regions of Alabama. I grew up in the Bible Belt of the Bible Belt, the very center of Alabama, between Birmingham and Montgomery.

I had little hope for this cookbook. It was kinda tattered and had an old spiral binding. I got it simply because I had read Katheryn Tucker Windham as a child. Imagine my surprise when I found a truly rich and delightful cookbook. I chose this okra recipe because nothing is more Southern than okra. I never really liked okra as a child because I often saw okra cooked to grey, slimy mess. This recipe takes unappealing slime and transforms it into a nifty appetizer or a fun side dish.

Okra Fritters
1 cup cooked okra (boiled)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Flour

Mix first five ingredients with enough flour to make a batter. Drop by spoonfuls on a hot griddle on which fat has been melted. Brown on both sides and serve at once.

Now get out there and plant some okra!