I love gardening!

      No. That’s an overstatement. What I love is the idea of gardening. I like believing that all my produce from summer to early fall will be harvested from my backyard. No more trips to the grocery store for veggies. Everything we need is right here.
      That, I’m afraid, has always been a pipe dream. In the four or five years I’ve been “gardening,” I may have picked one lunch bag full of produce from my crop, which I grow in pots of all types and sizes. Typically, I start planting in April, always excited about the possibilities. But by the time July rolls around, I’m tired of watering and waiting for the few remaining plants produce something. Anything.
      Of the 15 seedlings I planted this year, the majority only produced miniature reproductions of the actual vegetables. My tomato plants, even the Big Boy variety, look like grapes; my carrots are only two inches long; the eggplant just gave up trying; the zucchini – a squash many people have to give away because they grow so plentifully – only popped out two half-sized specimens that I am not sure are edible.
      But then there was the okra plant. I never even thought about planting okra until I noticed it mixed in with all the other vegetable at a retail store. It was kind of cute and I thought what the heck? So, I gave it one of my larger containers and left it alone to thrive.
      As it turned out, the okra plant not only thrived, it bore fruit, if you call slimy green pods fruit. Anyway, I was so excited. One spindly, tall plant produced a dozen okra without me even giving it much attention. I was so excited I pulled off about six of them and decided to cook them up.
Since it is too hot for Gumbo soup, fried okra is a year round fav. So, I dragged out my air fryer, threw a recipe together that required more vegetables from my garden and for once lived out my
fantasy.
      To be transparent, the okra was tough and a little stringy. Plus, I prefer using broccoli or peas in this easy summertime recipe. So, if you don’t want to deal with frying okra or even buying okra already fried, substitute a nice green vegetable to replace it. But I am honoring this single plant that made my gardening efforts a success this year.
 

My Heat Dome Pasta Dish
Yield: 2 Bowls
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
4 ounces Vermicelli pasta
10 to 12 okra pods, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds, (may be substituted with 2 cups steamed broccoli, two cups cooked fresh spinach, or two cups frozen peas.
* 1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup plain or Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
* 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
 

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, then drain.
Preheat air fryer to 400 F
Place sliced okra in beaten egg, toss to coat. Transfer okra to the breadcrumbs, and toss to coat.

Arrange okra in a single layer in the Air Fryer basket and spray with cooking oil. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

Halfway through, shake the basket.

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet, add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes until they release their juices and soften, about three minutes.
Add pasta to the tomato and olive oil mixture and toss until coated. Then gently add the okra or greens of choice.
Sprinkle on Parmesan and add a fresh basil leaf.

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Bon Appetit!