Recipe for the best fried okra this side of the Mississippi

Since I've dedicated myself to livin' the okra life, I felt compelled to make sure you had a good recipe for this delicacy. Since the tender age of about 8, I have been a connoisseur. My hometown of Newnan, GA, had restaurants run by Mr. Golden (I kid you not, and he cooked like he owned that name) on Savannah Street. We ate there many Sunday afternoons, and there was fresh fried okra on a BUFFET. Did you hear that? Buffet. I would get a plate of okra with a little side of turkey and dressing. (If you immediately started counting calories, fat grams and gluten content--bite me.)

I moved away and Twelve Savannah moved up to Main Street in the form of a slightly less glamorous meat-n-three joint called Goldens on the Square. One time for Christmas, my mom got a whole pan of fried okra for me for dinner. I'm sure I shared, and I'm sure there were other gifts, but they paled in comparison. A little salty, says my husband. Pish posh.

Golden's on the Square, Newnan, GA

It's been years since I've had my Golden's okra now, but I recently discovered a new recipe that is almost even better. Follow all steps as described. And bask in my awesome cooking skills.

1. Clear several days off your personal calendar.
2. Find a friend or family member to accompany you.
3. Pack a swimsuit, flip flops, shorts and sunscreen (advise friend to do the same).
4. Set your GPS for Hilton Head Island, SC
5. If driving is not an option, purchase a plane or train ticket (trust me)
6. Upon driving onto the Island, take the toll road (trust me)--Cross Island Parkway
7. Go directly to KENNY B's Cajun Seafood Hut (it's not a hut)
8. Eat all the fried okra. All of it. It's the best fried okra this side of the Mississippi*
9. Change into your swimsuit. Apply sunscreen liberally.
10. Beach yourself like a whale and fondly remember the okra.
11. Repeat for your next meal.
12. Find a hotel to sleep it off.

*If this blog thing ever turned into a career, surely I could do a "best fried okra" tour of the southern US and write it off as business expense, right? Can I get an AMEN!?

It's a whole plate o' goodness.

Other items of note concerning okra:

• If you cannot get to Hilton Head and need a fix, here are some recipes and here is Paula Deen's.
• If you want to get crazy with okra and NOT fry it (I don't understand you, but we can still be friends.), here are Southern Living's takes on it.
• If you don't want the mess or time-consumption, Cracker Barrel will do in a pinch. I get two sides to cover my bases.
• If you just want to fry some up at home, you must get the PICTSWEET version in the frozen food section of your grocery store. But please, for the love, add some fresh onions in around the 10-minute mark. And Tony Chachere's seasoning. And treat them like hash browns...you have to put them in really hot oil on medium high heat and just leave them alone for at least five-seven minutes. Flip them all over at once. No stirring. Bonus points if you flip them individually with a fork. Then add the onions. When fully cooked, drain on a paper plate lined with paper towels. Serve hot.
• We'll cover the merits of cornmeal versus flour batter at a later time. I'm livin' la vida okra here, people. I'm done for today.

Step out of the traffic!

One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible is "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10. In fact the whole chapter is pretty great. It speaks of earthquakes, war, oceans and mountains...in other words, Monday mornings. The Lord tells us to trust Him in the face of these things. Whatever these things are for you.

Here are my things:

1. Am I "enough" mom for my precocious and energetic little man?
2. Am I "enough" wife for my husband? Am I pretty enough, clean enough, organized enough?
3. How do I maintain some of "me" in the face of a daily to do list longer than my arm and bigger than my day?
4. Should I get a new job?
5. Is the washing machine going to back up again?
6. What if we need a whole new roof?
7. What kindergarten should we choose? Will our choice impact his ENTIRE. SCHOOL. CAREER?
8. What next steps? 
9. How the heck can I be still? What does that even mean? Still!? Nothing in my life is still.

And on and on. These are some of today's. They will add and multiply while I sleep tonight, like so many baby bunnies in our backyard.

So, I look up The Message version of this passage:

“Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”

And I think it looks something like this in real life: (This is not my preaching to you...this is my preaching to ME. If you get something out of it. Awesome.)
Make time each day to step out of the traffic. 20-30 minutes. No facebook/instagram/twitter/pinterest. 
Do something that connects your heart to God's. I won't dictate what that is. For me, it's a little writing. It makes me meditate on something inside and see how it relates to my outsides. Also, singing. Songs that make you smile or reflect or grieve or hope. God so very often nudges my heart through song. You might doodle, listen to worship, color (!), read Scripture, read a devotional, close your eyes and breathe deeply (sitting up--zzzzzzzz--so you don't nap).

Why? For years now, I have not made a regular practice of stepping out of traffic. It leaves me frazzled, desperate. It's a sinking that no list-making and errand-running can rescue. It's living WITH the earthquakes and letting them shake me, instead of standing above them with a God's-eye-view. Every tremor makes me feel as if the earth might just swallow me up. And in the worst moments, wonder if that would be ok too. Disappearing into the depths of a great big hole.

Here's the thing. When we are still and KNOW that HE IS GOD, what we are saying is that we are NOT GOD. When we let Him take on the kingdoms and the mountains, we are ceding control. Our hands aren't big enough, nor are our minds equipped to carry and process it all. All my life I've known He's God with my head and my heart, but not necessarily with my BODY. I don't have a faith problem as much as I have a putting-my-faith-to-work problem. If I want to experience what I believe, I have to make a regular, concerted and intentional effort to allow Him to BE GOD through an obedient act of STILLNESS. 

No wonder we feel at our ends. We are trying to be God...to our families, our work, our churches...swooping in and saving them all. The act of stopping is saying, "You are God. I am not." The end. There's no other secret to that verse. You are God. I am not. So, I'll stop today and acknowledge that and rest my soul under the shadow of your great wings. 
  

Psalm 63

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

¹ You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

² I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

⁶ On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.

⁷ Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

⁹ Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
    and become food for jackals.

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.