The Fighting Okra

The Bouldin/Clardy family garden had an interesting rookie year; some items were quite bountiful, while some had a dismal showing, to say the least. Thankfully one of our more fruitful ventures was one of my all-time favorites: okra!!
I knew from the beginning that if our okra did well, I wanted to make hot pickled okra. And I knew I would need my mother's help in doing so. She was very gracious with her time and knowledge, and walked me through my first canning experience.

We used a combination of two recipes, adding in what we had available, and substituting for things we didn't. Our garden was over-run with cayenne peppers, so we added a few of those in each jar. Some jars we used dill weed, and some we left with just garlic, cayenne peppers, and/or jalapeno peppers. 

We had to wait 5 weeks to taste the fruits of our labor; definitely a lesson in delayed gratification. But last week Mom and I were able to open and taste the slimy little veggies...and they were delicious!!! A tad tangy, full of flavor, and with a good deal of heat, although I wouldn't mind if they were a little spicier. I will probably add more jalapenos to a few jars next time.
Oh and this blog post title? Just a little tribute to my affinity for Delta State University, home of the ''Fighting Okra". Not kidding.