Terrifying Tuesdays: Okra!

This was one of those that really terrified me. I've not had a good experience with okra, and only very limited experiences too. Plus I've been frightened by all the reports of sliminess of okra. This is the one thing my dad refuses to eat. But I've been inspired by Kath at Kath Eats Real Food - who touts that oven roasted okra is da bomb. I had checked a cookbook out of the library called "Grub" that has a grilled okra recipe, so that's what I used. I halved the marinade since I wasn't bold enough to use the full amount of okra that I bought. The marinade contains evoo, fresh squeezed lemon juice, sea salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. The recipe calls for you to kabob the okra, but I had peppers and onions to grill too, so I slapped it all on the vegetable rack I have.

I found it pretty decent. Not slimy at all. And the cayenne added a nice little bit of heat. Just a little to add interest. So I gave it a surprising thumbs up. Gary gave it a half thumb. He's not an okra fan, so he was surprised that he didn't gag (his own words). Jake gave it a thumbs down, but he only gave it a half tooth bite. Ryan gave it a half thumb. He said it was not bad, but then said it didn't have a good aftertaste. I'm not sure what he was tasting. He might not have liked the pepper since he's not fond of heat.

So, I may not make it again, but I may. If reports come out that okra has amazing health properties, then I'll gladly chow down.
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My parents are coming this weekend. Gary had bought Atlanta Falcon tickets for this weekend and I thought it'd be a good idea to give my dad my ticket. I think he would enjoy it more than me, plus I'd go out shopping with mom and we could bond a little. (not that we need more bonding!) I just think it's time I do a little inviting and not just be the invitee.

So I'm busy cleaning and getting the house in order. You know how it is when moms visit. Plus I need to get up the dust and pet hair. We don't have pets, but the people before us did. Every time I sweep, there is cat hair in the dust pan. I don't get it. Anyway, I've got to dehair as best I can because my folks are allergic.

Our dining room has been serving as a storage room, and I just can't see us finding other space for our junk. This house has a lot of wasted space. It should have room for all our stuff, but it doesn't. The upstairs has a very wide hall (wasted space) plus it's missing a big chunk because they opted for the soaring entryway. Not only is that wasted space, the light and sound from downstairs wafts upstairs, and vice versa. At least I know that this is not a feature I want in my forever house.

Anyway, the reason I bring up the dining room is because the topic of Thanksgiving has been brought up. I just don't see us hosting family get togethers, not without a dining room. We dont' have a dining room table anyway. *sigh* I think Gary has something totally different in mind for turkey day. Gonna have to break it to the folks. Well, they get us for christmas...