Last week, I visited the big Wednesday Farmers’ Market in Santa Monica and picked up a bottle of pickled okra. I have always liked okra, though Martine won’t touch it. (The seeds hurt her gums.) I remember liking to cook a vegetarian Indian dish called Aloo Bindhi, which consists of a dry curry of okra and potatoes. Quite tasty, though you have to dry the okra with paper towels after washing it so that it doesn’t turn to mush.

What I haven’t tried is the main okra dish that is part of American cuisine, namely gumbo. But that has nothing to do with the okra per se as the fact that I am not fond of chicken, shrimp, or crawfish.

Today I chowed down on the pickled okra while warming up my ground turkey tamale pie. I am very fond of pickled vegetables when the temperature outside begins to soar.

By the way, if you’re interested in trying Aloo Bindhi, here is a recipe that looks pretty good.