In which I can’t be the only person who doesn’t know what fried okra is
Posted by Isabel on February 12th, 2010. Filed under: Blog Addiction, Churchy Stuff, My Sweet Babboo, The King, They're just my family, They're just my friends, Work.It seems like January came and went in a flash, right? We actually had a pretty busy January, which is odd because we are usually pretty boring. (Seriously….the dreary weather needs to stop so that we can go outside and enjoy the sun.)
I’ve realized that I haven’t updated the interweb (or people I know IRL) that The King got a job. Oh yes, a real live job that pays him to show up and work. Okay, it’s 3 month contract job doing the same thing he did before for a different agency. But we’re pretty sure he’ll be able to stay on as long as he wants. He’s still looking for a job, but he’s not going to say no to the one he’s currently rocking.
Months ago, before The King lost his job back in July, we made a deal with Babboo. We told him that if he’d quit biting his nails that we’d buy him The Big Pirate Ship. We really weren’t sure this was going to work. But yeah, the kid quit biting his nails right away. And right before the losing of the job. So then we had to tell Babboo that we’d buy him The Big Pirate Ship once The King found a new job.
The day after The King got the job we bought The Big Pirate ship. My Sweet Babboo hasn’t quit playing with it ever since. It maybe only intensified his already intense love for Playmobil pirates.
(He prefers to play with it in our bedroom. He says the “ocean” is better in there.)
I maybe also forgot to mention that for Christmas my parents bought us all plane tickets to come and visit them in January! I’m always happy anytime they offer money towards plane tickets to Utah. Babboo is over two and is now required to have his own seat. Flying is a lot of money, yo! (How do people with more then one kid afford it. Seriously, what do the Duggers pay when they fly?) (Speaking of the Duggers, you now how they’ve named all their kids “J” names? Yeah, so did my parents. It’s the one thing we have in common with them. Well, except for our love of God.)
What was I talking about? Oh yeah, our trip to visit my family.
So yeah, we headed to Utah a few weeks ago and while it was snowy and pretty cold, we still had fun. We talked my parents into geocaching for the first time. It was our first time geocaching in the snow. And let me tell you, it’s even harder to find a cache when it’s under three feet of snow. I think my parents liked it. I think.
We also had the opportunity to drive up to Salt Lake City for a few hours. The King and I had never taken Babboo to visit Temple Square, so we went. It’s always so special to be around such a beautiful building. (The SLC temple was the first temple I attended at the ripe old young age of 22.)
After walking around the temple grounds we decided to check out one of the many museums there. Babboo particularly enjoyed seeing the original pulpit from the old Tabernacle. (You can just barely see his little head peeking up over the top. He seriously stood up there on his own and began talking about Jesus. It was pretty sweet.)
Oh yeah, he also got to play with my younger brother’s real lightsaber. It makes the “whoose” noise and everything. (Check me out, I even knew that it was Darth Vader’s lightsaber because he has the red one. NERD!)
Right after returning from our little trip to Utah, I headed to Oklahoma City for an entire week for work. Just like Utah OKC was cold and snowy. BTW, I had to work outside for part of the day everyday. It was cold and wet and I wasn’t happy.
The low point of the week was when my coworker tricked me into visiting the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. I did not want to go. I already had a tender heart that week and I knew going there would only intensify those feelings. Plus, I didn’t want to cry in front of my coworker.
I’m not lying when I saw he tricked me to go there. Him doing that left a very bad taste in my mouth. I allowed him to snap a few pics and then I got the h-e double toothpicks outta there.
The low point of the week was, thankfully, quickly followed by the high point. The lovely Carrisa drove all the way from her home in Tulsa to come stay the night in OKC and hang out with me.
And it only got better as the night progressed…..
The always awesome and hilarious Shana from over at GorillaBuns came and had BBQ with us.
(This picture was totally staged. I can assure you that Shana ate her ribs with much more dignity and grace!)
Shanne and Carrisa gave me a lot of grief for the following things I’m going to tell you. You have to swear that you won’t give me grief too.
Say “I swear”.
Okay.
I had never eaten ribs before. NEVER. It wasn’t that I was against the idea of ribs, it just had never been offered to me before. I ate ribs. I liked ribs. I wasn’t sure why I had never had them before.
The next thing you can’t give me grief for is that I’ve never had fried okra. Honestly, I’m not even sure what okra is, let alone fried okra. This floored Carrisa and Shana. Seriously floored them. The promptly requested some friend okra from the waitress. Who promptly told us they were fresh out of okra.
After that Shana suggested I just buy some frozen fried okra at my local Seattle grocery store and give it a try.
She was even more floored when I assured her that my local grocery store wouldn’t carry fried okra in their frozen food section. She didn’t believe me. But yeah, they wouldn’t have it.
Now remember, you swore that you wouldn’t give me any grief for this. YOU SWORE!
Thanks to Shana and Carrisa for making my week away from my little family bearable. I’ll see you the next time I’m in OKC. (Which might be in March, BTW. I’ll keep you posted on my schedule!)
February 12th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
I really hope you get to try fried okra sometime soon. But don’t let your first okra experience be with boiled or pickled okra. Trust me.
Also, it was so good seeing you and Shana. I can’t wait to do it again.
February 12th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
I’m sure they WERE good, but I didn’t know what I was looking at at first with the ribs platter. Thought you were trying out roadkill.
Love Babboo and his self control with nail biting. I’m almost 40 and still can’t stop myself.
When are your trips planned for upstate NY??? Pretty please?!
February 12th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Okra? Okay. You just go ahead with that…I’ll be very happy to be a spectator. Though I didn’t have ribs myself until a few years ago, so I can’t give you any grief. It just wasn’t one of those foods my family made.
Also, the pirate ship? It totally rocks!
As for your co-worker – he sucks. Big time hairy donkey b@!! level of suckage.
Last, but not least – GO KING! Yeah, whoohoo and all other kinds of rockage going on there.
February 12th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Fried okra can be delicious or terrible, depending on who makes it. I really really love it, though.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Never have had fried okra either. And ribs – maybe a couple of times. We just eat different stuff on the west coast, I think. Just wondering if all you rib eating/okra partaking individuals regularly consume pho?
Your co-worker demonstrated some really poor judgement – and I’m trying to be charitable. But I’m very pleased that The King has landed a 9 to 5 gig. YAE KING!
Nice to get a fresh entry from you – I’ve missed my Hola Isabel fix.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
I love, love, LOVE fried okra! I wish I could make you some, because seriously. Yum.
Your coworker really sucks for tricking you like that. Totally uncool.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
My grocery store in Colorado just started carrying frozen fried okra, but I’m not sure that’s the proper way to try it for the first time. Surely Seattle has some sort of delicious soul food restaurant that would make for a much better introduction? I would highly recommend it! (and pho for that matter!)
Also, so happy for the King!!
February 12th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
I haven’t had fried okra, but I’ve had it in soup. I think I wrote all about it in my SDBBE book so someday you’ll have the awesome privilege of reading it. I was surprised to see that we have it in the frozen section here. I didn’t think we would! Scotty pointed the okra plant out in the scenery of The Princess and the Frog. It’s weird looking. Scotty’s all about okra because he served in SC.
Wait! Maybe it wasn’t okra that I wrote about it my SDBBE book! It might have been fat back. In fact, I don’t think it was my SDBBE book at all! I think it was Becky’s!
Well, now I’m just a liar!
February 13th, 2010 at 12:54 am
I’ve never had okra, period. West Coast thing, perhaps?
February 13th, 2010 at 1:58 am
Oh, how I LOVE fried okra!! Or some people down here say ‘okrey’. Did you happen to have BBQ while you were in Memphis? Best.BBQ.Ever. That’s one good thing about Memphis!
February 13th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
I’ve heard of fried okra but I’ve never had it. I have heard that okra itself isn’t very tasty… maybe it’s better fried? I always thought it was a southern thing but perhaps it’s in the midwest too?
February 13th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Never in a million years could I tease you about those two things because a) I have never had ribs and b) I haven’t a clue what Okra is… what is it? I am very poor with food, having grown up in a family where you knew what day of the week it was by what you were eating (not adventurous at all) and I had a serious food-phobia growing up. Since meeting Tim I have been introduced to many wonderful new foods and enjoy cooking too now (his Grandad used to be head chef at the famous Trinity College here in Cambridge, so good cooking and good tastes must run in the family!) However Okra and ribs have never been on our menu… maybe they should be
Loved the picture of Baboo in the pulpit, how sweet!
February 14th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
You better come back in March. I promise this time I will have done my hair and well, not look so gosh darn cheesy and stupid in my pictures!
Next up for your dining pleasure: Fried Okra or at the very least Fried Chicken in Okarche. Didn’t you say you hadn’t had Fried Chicken before?
Can’t wait!
February 15th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Dear Isabel:
I will not give you grief for never having eaten ribs. I will, however, state for the record that I think ribs are disgusting! They look too much like a body part. Then you’ve got all the bones sitting there….ewwwww.
I didn’t realize you were in Utah in January—you and your book were here at the same time!!!
And: the pirate ship looks AWESOME. Awesome!
Love, Amy
February 16th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
If you ever come close to St. Louis, I’ll take you to Lambert’s Cafe. They have the BEST fried okra (and I am commiting a heinous crime because I’m picking their fried okra over my Mammaw’s – love ya Mammaw!).
Oh, did you know there is a lightsaber app for the iPhone? I have it. I love it. I use it in traffic to smite the stupid drivers in front of me.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I grew up west coast all the way, have lived and travelled in nothing but the west coast for years, and I disagree with the commentors who think the lack of ribs must be west coast. My parents made ribs all the time for our big family gatherings, and I eat pho, and sushi, and indian food, and korean , thai, chinese, ethiopian, every kind of food. To be fair I did know about ochra but never had it until my friends from Atlanta, who moved out here to the west, made it for me. And I agree with the commentors who say don’t eat it any other way but deep fried and don’t try the frozen stuff or you’ll run screaming.
But then, I like alligator, I’ve eaten bear and antelope and moose, and grasshoppers aren’t bad, so perhaps I am a bit more adventureous when it comes to food? And yet I NEVER know what to make for dinner. Gah.