Okra Refrigerator Pickeled – 2025

Posted on by September 13, 2025

8/30/2025 – Made one quart of refrigerator pickled okra with the brine proportions as used here. The small pods of okra had the stem and shoulder removed leaving enough to hold in the interior slime. Tasted after three days and it was ok, but was better after one week.

  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1 Cup White vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp sugar – [Should have been 4.5 tsp (1.5 Tbsp) and not 3 tsp]
  • 1 Tbsp sugar

Brought to a boil.

Put half of the following in the bottom, packed in the small okra, and half on top of the okra.

  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper flakes from the Garden
  • about 4 cloves o garlic
  • 1/2 tsp dill seeds in bottom and Mary came along and said that is not enough so put 1 heaping teaspoon on top of okra.

Poured boiling liquid to within 1/2-in of the top. Had exactly the right amount. Next time add a little more water and vinegar to be sure.

9/12/2025 – Made two quarts as those made on 8/30 are great. The portions for the brine below is correct even thought the above did not have the correct amount of salt. The amount of brine was just enough to fill the two quart jars packed with okra.

  • 2 Cup Water
  • 2 Cup White vinegar
  • 3 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 3 fingers of garlic in the bottom and 3 on top
  • Good pinch of pepper flakes in the bottom and on the top
  • 1 heping tsp of dill seed on the top.

Note the sugar was short 1 Tbsp.

Broccoli Salad

Posted on by February 16, 2026

8/28/2025, updated 2/13/2026 – This Broccoli Salad was inspired by Chef Billy Parisi’s recipe here. It has fresh broccoli, bacon, cheese, seeds, and dried fruit tossed in a creamy mayo dressing. We did not have the seeds or dried cherries, but cranraisens was good in it. It made a very good crunchy salad that could have also had chicken chunks or sausage.

Ingredients 
  • 4 ounces bacon ends
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 1½tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1½ tablespoons sugar
  • 5 cups of broccoli florets
  • ¼ peeled and small-diced red onion, about ½ cup
  • ½ cup dried cran-raisins
  • ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • Juice of ½ Lemon – added 2/13/2026
Instructions
  • Fried bacon ends until crispy. Drain onto paper towels and let cool.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper until combined.
  • Next, small dice the crispy bacon and add it to a large bowl along with the broccoli florettes, onion, cherries, cran-raisins, lemon juice, and shredded cheddar cheese.
  • Pour the mayonnaise dressing over the top and fold the ingredients together using a spatula. Adjust any seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.
  • Let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
Notes

It may seem like a small thing, but if you want to make the best broccoli salad recipe, take the time to chop the broccoli into small, bite-sized florets. This is especially important if you’re making it for a potluck or BBQ where no one wants to wrestle a giant tree of broccoli with a plastic fork. Those small florets are not only easier to pick up but also ensure that you get a little bit of everything in each bite.

Taste and adjust: Taste the assembled salad before serving. If the flavors aren’t as balanced as you’d like, mix in a pinch of salt, more vinegar, or a little extra sugar.

More add-in ideas: Consider adding chopped celery, shredded carrots, thinly sliced snap peas, or cauliflower florets to bulk up the salad.

Next Time:

Add chicken chunks or sausage to up the protein

Pork Butt Smoked for the Carters, 8/28/2025

Posted on by August 28, 2025

This smoke was like the one  From the standpoint of temperatures and timing. Primarily that smoked ended well and the timing was right for taking some to the Carters before dinner.

Bought a 18 lb. vac pack of two pork butts ($1.69/lb), trimmed the fat, and cut it into thirds along the muscles. Rubbed one side with 6POGS lightly then Creole Seasoning and black pepper. Rubbed the other side with just creole seasoning. That was a bit lighter and less heat that usual so Jan would not find it too spicy. Let it sit out for about a half-hour.

  1. 8:00 AM – Put in into the preheated RecTec at 250°. IT temp based on Probe A in a smallish clod for the Carters was 74.
  2. 12:30 PM – Pulled Carters (small clods) at 207 then wrapped in foil.
  3. wrapped in foil with more rub and ACV. Put into convection oven set to 300°.
  4. Turned oven off and let them rest.
  5. 7:00 PM – Enjoyed great smoky pork. Had a deep smoke ring and moist spicy bark.

Tuna Salad like Chef Billy

Posted on by January 25, 2026

8/24/2025 – Mary made Tuna Salad inspired by Chef Billy Parisi’s My Tuna Macaroni Salad Recipe with some changes. The most significant being to leave out the macaroni. It was very good with a more flavor from Mom’s but also was a good reminder of hers. If you go to his recipe then you will note the ingredients below are about half of his as Mary did not want to make that much.

He also has a tuna salad in a Tuna Melt Sandwich.

Ingredients 

  • 2 shelled, small-diced hard boiled eggs
  • 1/4 peeled and small diced red onion
  • 2 ribs small diced celery
  • 1 finely minced small garlic clove
  • 1 tablespoon dried dill [our dried dill was old and the fresh he called for would have been great]
  • 2 tablespoons small diced dill pickles
  • 2 tablespoons sweet pickel relish [he calls for small diced bread and butter pickles]
  • 2 tablespoons minced capers
  • 2 – 5 oz. cans of tuna, drained
  • mayonnaise
  • Dijon mustard
  • Juice of ½ small lemon, about 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons
  • coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
  • Some ground cayenne pepper

Instructions

  • Mix everything until completely combined. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
  • Serve with optional additional whole capers and fresh dill.

Mediterranean-Style Okra Stew

Posted on by August 21, 2025

8/20/2025 — This was a great way to use okra from the garden and was inspired by Suzy at Okra Recipe, Mediterranean-Style (Bamya).

Okra and tomatoes prepared Mediterranean-style with onions, garlic, hot peppers, warm spices and a splash of lime juice. This quick-cooked vegan okra stew is the perfect combination of savory, tangy, and just a little bit spicy. You can use 1 or 2 jalapenos, depending on how spicy you like your food. And if you need it a little more tangy, add more lime juice!

Ingredients

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion chopped (1 cup chopped onion)
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 medium jalapeno chopped from our garden
  • 1 lb fresh cut okra sliced into rounds (or small whole okra, trimmed) from our garden
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • ½ tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 1 ½ cup crushed tomatoes, frozen from our garden
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 tomato sliced into rounds
  • Juice of ½ lime

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and lower the heat to medium. Add the onions, garlic and chopped jalapeno peppers. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes stirring regularly (do not let the garlic burn).
  • Add the okra and sautee for 5 to 7 minutes over medium-high heat.
  • Season with kosher salt, black pepper and spices. Toss to coat.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes and water. Stir to combine. Add the tomato slices on top.
  • Bring to a light boil, then turn the heat to low and cover most of the way (leave a little opening).
  • Let the okra simmer on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the okra has softened. Uncover and add juice of ½ lime (more to your liking).
  • Remove from heat and serve over rice.

The single japapeno added a flavor but no kick. Could add more.

Gumbo with Bluerunner Base

Posted on by August 4, 2025

8/4/2025 – Made a quick gumbo that was very good using a large can (25 oz.) of Bluerunner Seafood Gumbo Base that was added to a trinity with flour for a simple roux and seasoning. Served it around Jasmine Rice piled in the center of the bowl and the gumbo poured around the white mound.

  1. Sauteed in olive oil and bacon grease about 60/40:
    • half of a 3-inch diameter vadalia sweet onion roughly chopped
    • about a cup of bell pepper roughly chopped
    • about a heaping cup of celery roughly chopper.
  2. Once they began to soften along the edges added a heaping small stir spoon of all-purpose flour and continued to stir so it mixed in and brown litely without burning.
  3. Added 4-5 shakes (maybe a heaping teaspoon) of our Creole Seasoning. Continued to stir regularly for 2-3 minutes until I could smell the seasoning.
  4. Added the well shaken can of base and stirred until it was well blended.
  5. After about 10 minutes tasted it for seasoning and it tasted too bland. Add about 1 heaping tablespoon of Kit’s Creole seasoning.
  6. After about 20 minutes add about a half pound of shelled medium shrimp (Publix easy shell, deviened) and brought it to near boil.
  7. Immediately turned it down to simmer for about 30 minutes.
  8. Served around rice.

Fried Food Breading & Air Fryer Okra

Posted on by August 18, 2025

7/24/2025 – The breading recipe below is from the one at Air Fryer Okra Recipe (Fries and Breaded!). We used it this date on traditionally oil fried okra and two days later on traditionally fried catfish. It was very good on both. Her instructions for air-frying sound good and we need to try them.

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh or frozen okra whole pods
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal not mix
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoons smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon black pepper or cayenne
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
Oil spray

  • In one bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, garlic powder, smoke paprika, and pepper. Mix and set aside. In the second bowl whisk together the egg and milk.
  • Once you have about a cup of chopped okra in the egg mixture toss well. Then drain off the egg mixture and toss the pieces into the cornmeal breading. Mix well to coat.
  • Shake the excess cornmeal off of the fried okra pieces. 
  • Salt to taste

Grilled Pork Chops like Chef Billy & Mex Spice Blend

Posted on by September 1, 2025

7/22/2025 – These grill chops were great. This recipe was inspired by Chef Billy Parisi here. His Mexican seasoning blend was also good and made a great marinade.

Ingredients 

  • 1 Mexican spice blend recipe (see ingredients at the end of this post)
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 10- ounce thick cut bone-in pork chops

Instructions

  • Preheat the grill to high heat (450° to 550°).
  • Mix the olive oil with 2 tablespoons of the rub on a plate until combined, and dredge the pork in the seasoning rub.
  • Let sit for 20 minutes and then place directly onto a hot grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until grill marks have formed and reached an internal temperature of 135°-140°.
  • Remove the pork from the grill and rest for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

His Notes

The key to making the best grilled pork chops recipe is to add more oil and spice mix to the plate as needed. After a few chops, the mix starts to run low, and you want to make sure each one is coated well. That way, every chop comes off the grill seasoned and tasting great.

  • Use thick-cut chops: Thicker chops hold onto their juices better. They’re less likely to dry out and give you that perfect tender bite.
  • Let the chops sit out before grilling: I [Chef Billy] like to take the pork out of the fridge about 15 to 20 minutes before cooking. It helps them cook more evenly on the grill.
  • Marinate for extra flavor: Even 20 minutes in the spice and oil mixture makes a big difference. If I have time, I’ll let them sit a bit longer.
  • Check internal temperature: I use a meat thermometer to make sure the pork is cooked perfectly. Somewhere between 135° and 140°F is perfect for juicy, slightly pink chops.
  • Don’t skip the rest time: After grilling, I always let the chops rest for a few minutes. It keeps the juices inside and makes a big difference in texture.

Chef Billy’s Mexican Spice Blend

Ingredients 
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon onion granules
  • 1 tablespoon garlic granules
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon dry oregano
  • 1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

In the recipe post he says: Other dry spices you can add in are cayenne, paprika, chipotle powder, cinnamon, or ground cloves. 

Chef Billie’s Shrimp Boil Seasoning

Posted on by July 31, 2025

He titled the blend Seafood Seasoning Recipe. We would call it Shrimp Boil Seasoning

These quatites are based on the calculated values to prep 1 cup of the blend. The calculations were by the recipe template behind his web page. The rounded values are by me.

Servings: 1 cup

Ingredients

  • 4.55 tablespoons coarse sea salt – Rounded 1/4 cup
  • 1.52 tablespoon crushed or ground coriander seeds – Scant 1/8 cup
  • 3.03 teaspoons celery seeds – 1 tbsp
  • 2.27 teaspoons cayenne pepper – scant 1 tbsp
  • 2.27 tablespoons dry dill – scant 1 tbsp
  • 0.76 teaspoon dry ginger
  • 2.27 tablespoons paprika – – scant 1 tbsp
  • 1.52 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3.03 teaspoons dry mustard – 1 tbsp
  • 1.52 teaspoon ground or crushed all-spice

Shrimp Boil Recipe

Ingredients 
  • 1 recipe for seafood seasoning = 0.66 cup see below
  • 3 lemons, sliced in half
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 20 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 2 peeled roughly chopped yellow onions
  • 5 pounds red potatoes
  • 6 ears shucked corn, each ear cut into thirds
  • 2 pounds polish sausage, cut into 1” to 2” pieces
  • 18 fresh clams
  • 3 pounds jumbo deveined shell-on shrimp
  • coarse salt to taste
Instructions
  • Bring 3 gallons of water to a soft boil along with the spice blend, lemons, bay leaves, thyme, and onions. Note: the water should be as salty tasting as the ocean so you may need to add more salt.
  • Next, add in the potatoes and cook for 4 minutes.
  • Add in the corn. Cook for another 4 minutes.
  • Add in the sausage and cook for 4 minutes, then add in the clams and cook for 4 minutes.
  • Finally, turn the heat off completely add the shrimp and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked and the clams have opened.
  • Drain the shrimp and clam boil and serve on a newspaper or a large serving platter.
Seasoning amts for his boil recipe – servings: 0.66 cup
Ingredients 
  • 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon crushed or ground coriander seeds
  • 2 teaspoons celery seeds
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 1 ½ tablespoons dry dill
  • ½ teaspoon dry ginger
  • 1 ½ tablespoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon ground or crushed all-spice

Ina Garten Oven-roasted Southern “Shrimp Boil”

Posted on by June 27, 2025

6/26/2025 – Made twice for dinner when Digger and Carol Creel were visiting. Great taste and appearance. Served it sitting on Hester’s cutting board upside down. In an aluminium foil boat in one end of the pan, Mary added unseasoned ingredients for Carol.

Ina Garten’s Oven-Roasted Southern Shrimp Boil is made with Yukon Gold potatoes, olive oil, Old Bay seasoning, corn, smoked kielbasa, large shrimp, fresh parsley, and lemons. This easy Southern shrimp boil recipe creates a delicious dinner that takes about 47 minutes to prepare and can serve up to 4 people.

Consider trying it with our creole seasoning for more flavor than Old Bay.

Ingredients
  • 1 pound small (1-inch diameter) Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
  • Good olive oil-used our Mediterranean Dish Greece Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Old Bay Seasoning or Creole Seasoning
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 ears G90 sweet corn fresh from the garden, husked and cut crosswise in 1½-inch chunks
  • 1 pound smoked Bergeron’s Green Onion sausage, sliced 1-inch-thick diagonally
  • 1½ pounds large (16 to 20-count) deviened, easy peal shrimp in the shell frozen from Publix
  • 2½ tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 2 lemons
Instructions
  1. Preheat our convection oven on roast to 425°F.
  2. Prepare the potatoes: In a large 33 × 40 cm / 13 × 16-inch roasting pan, toss the potatoes with 1½ tablespoons olive oil, 1½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Spread the potatoes in a single layer, cut side down, and roast for 12 minutes.
  3. Prepare the corn and sausage In a medium bowl, toss the corn with 1½ tablespoons olive oil, 1½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. After the potatoes have roasted for 12 minutes, turn them with a spatula, spread them out, and add the corn and sausage.
    Roast for an additional 10 minutes.
  4. Prepare the shrimp: In the same bowl, toss the shrimp with 1½ tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Set the oven to bake, add the shrimp to the pan and bake for 10–15 minutes, tossing halfway through until the shrimp are just cooked.
  5. Serve: Sprinkle with fresh parsley and squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top.
  6. Cut the second lemon into wedges and serve hot in large bowls with an extra bowl for discarding corn cobs and shrimp shells.
Notes
  1. Roast Potatoes Cut Side Down: This helps them get crispy and golden brown, adding texture to the dish.
  2. Turn Ingredients Gently: When adding each layer, gently flip with a spatula to avoid breaking up the potatoes and sausage.
  3. Season Each Ingredient Separately: Toss the potatoes, corn, and shrimp separately with oil and seasoning before adding to the pan to ensure each part is well-flavored.
  4. Serve with Extra Lemon Wedges: The fresh lemon juice brightens the flavors, so serving extra wedges allows everyone to add as much as they like.
  5. We preseasoned the shrimp in the fridge for about 2 hours.
  6. We used a liberal amount of old bay. Next time also add our creole seasoning.