Steamed Okra

Insert steamer into a pot.  Add water, making sure that the water level is below the bottom of the steamer.

Put fresh okra into the steamer and cover.  Steam only a few minutes, because overcooked okra is slippery stuff!
  Okra should be tender and still bright green.

Serve steamed okra hot, with butter.

Or serve it cold, with just a bit of vinegar and salt.

Dress with vinegar or lemon juice, oil, and salt and store okra in the refrigerator for a good addition to any salad.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Kale

Kale

Often used as-is as attractive green garnish under items on a cold plate.

To steam:

Trim away the stems and discard
Cook in a steamer until leaves are wilted but still bright green
Remove from heat and take them out of the pot so the kale will remain green.

Use as an add-in for little soups.  Especially nice with white beans.

Add raw, roughly chopped, to pots of minestrone or other soup.

Food presented on "seaweed" in Asian restaurants is often actually on roasted kale!  Here's a recipe for that from Whole Foods.  Oven Roasted Kale

I've tried it.  It's so good that we ate it up like potato chips.

To see a full set of photographs showing this food, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).