How do you fix a broken tomato? Tomato paste!

What’s spicy, green and red all over?  A blog post with pictures of stewed okra, tomatoes and peppers on it!

Knock knock. Who’s there? Okra. Okra who? Okra Winfrey’s coming over for dinner!!

(That one’s not really funny unless you say the punchline out loud in your best Oprah Winfrey voice.)

Ok, seriously.  This is one of my favorite summer recipes.  It uses delicious, healthy ingredients and requires almost zero skill to prepare, plus it’s vegan!

Easy Stewed Okra Tomatoes and Peppers
1 onion
1 jalapeno pepper with seeds and ribs
4 sweet or hot bell peppers, seeds and ribs removed
1 lb. okra
1 clove garlic
2 cups tomatoes (12 oz. canned diced or 2-3 fresh diced tomatoes will work)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. cajun seasoning
A few Tbs. water for consistency, if stew is too thick

Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a large pot. Chop onion, peppers, jalapeño, garlic, and okra, adding the chopped veggies to the pot as you go.  Saute vegetable mixture on medium high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The onions, peppers, garlic and okra should start to caramelize, turning dark brown at the edges. The okra will give off lots of slime.  Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes or open the 12 oz. can of tomatoes and add those to the pot, with liquid.  Season mixture with Cajun seasoning of your choice.  Turn heat down to low. Cover and simmer for fifteen minutes to an hour.   If you simmer it for the full hour, most of the okra will be pretty broken down and the slimy texture will be gone.   Serve this on its own or over rice, grits or polenta.

*In closing: What do you call a nosy pepper? Jalapeno business!!