Fare Exchange: Make okra without slime; bake chocolate cake for one

Welcome to October Fare, dear readers. Tena Wexler is hoping you can provide recipes for sour cream biscuits and for flourless chocolate peanut butter cookies. Can you?

As promised, here’s a second way to prepare okra from Jim Sparks. He reminded us that what follows is more technique than recipe. Techniques sometimes require a little experimentation, so perhaps one buys two pounds of okra and invites a tester or two to join you.

And in the technique process, Mr. Sparks invented a new word – new at least to us: slimeless.

Slimeless Sautéed Okra

1 pound fresh okra

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry okra, then cut into approximately -inch slices. Using an iron skillet, heat butter and vegetable oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté about a minute while stirring, reducing heat if garlic looks too brown. Add sliced okra and stir to coat.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it browns too fast, reduce heat. Near the end of cooking time, add salt and pepper to taste. Okra will show a great amount of shrinkage and should be partially brown when done.

TASTY TOMATOES

Ginny Gaines clipped this recipe from “Southern Living” many years ago.

Herbed Tomato Slices

15 (1/2-inch thick) tomato slices

Vegetable cooking spray

1/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh basil or 1/4 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Fresh basil sprigs for garnish

Arrange tomato slices in a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, basil and melted butter and mix well. Sprinkle evenly over tomato slices. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with basil sprigs if desired.

WHAT KNIFE SHOULD I BUY?

On the subject of knives, Mr. and Mrs. Sunday waxed poetic – or shall we say got personal?

“This is a frequent question with what seems like an unhelpful answer: The one that works for you. There is an awful lot of macho posturing about knives in professional kitchens having to do with brand names, country of origin, type and hardness of steel, forged vs. stamped, shape and other factors. Most of these are fine points useful for bragging rights, but here’s what you really need to consider.

“How well does it fit your hand? When you cut with it will your knuckles hit the board? Not your knife if they do. Is the handle so thick you need a two-handed grip like Game of Thrones? Uh-uh. Is the handle so thin you can’t really feel the handle? Same issue. Is the blade so heavy you get exhausted just looking at it? Not for you.

“Fit is the single most important factor in choosing a knife. The best knife for you is one that feels like an extension of your hand.

“Be sure to try the balance when you have it in the chef’s pinch-blade grip; if the blade feels too heavy or light you’ll have to work too hard to use it.”

And this is to be continued.

EASY DRESSING

Here’s a homemade dressing from the Town and Country Restaurant cookbook, shared with Fare Exchange by several of you. Remember when we almost always made our own salad dressings? I think I remember that.

It’s kind of fun, back-to-the-earthy, to do again.

Honey French Salad Dressing

12 ounces ketchup

Dash salt

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 cup vinegar

Mix well and keep refrigerated.

CAKE FOR ONE

And thanks to Mrs. Sunday of the culinary pair for this easiest of cakes, a recipe that keeps on giving, waiting for you in the refrigerator for days to weeks. And you can enjoy one serving at a time.

Mrs. Sunday’s Decadent Chocolate Cake, Single Serving

Batter:

1/2 cup cocoa powder, the darker the better (King Arthur Double-Dutch works well)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup original Egg Beaters

4 tablespoons half and half

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

Combine cocoa and sugar in a bowl or quart jar and mix thoroughly.

Combine Egg Beaters, half and half and vanilla in a 2-cup measuring cup and mix thoroughly. Add about a quarter of the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix until no dry is left.

Repeat with another quarter of the wet. Then add the rest and be sure it’s all mixed evenly. It will keep in the refrigerator for longer than we can stand to let it be there.

Cake:

Scant 1/4 cup of batter

Dash (1/8 teaspoon) baking powder

Pam nonstick spray

You will need a coffee cup about 2 inches across and 4 inches high. Spray cup with Pam or coat lightly with oil. If cake sticks to the cup you’ll never get it out.

Pour batter in the cup, add the baking powder, stir to combine and place in the microwave.

All microwaves are different, so you’ll need to watch it like a hawk. Don’t do more than one cake at a time. Set the timer for a minute or so on high, but immediately remove and plate the cake when the foam gets above 50 percent of the height of the cup. Note the remaining time so that next time you can set the time exactly.

Don’t delay in plating as residual heat will continue cooking the cake. If you get it right, you’ll have a cake about an inch-plus high with gooey delicious chocolate sauce on top.

If you overcook slightly, you’ll have a circular brownie; that is OK but not what we are after.

Makes 6 to 8 little cakes. Garnish if you please. (The Sundays rarely bother, and Mrs. S has been known to use her fingers on the plate to get all the goodness up.)

– Adapted from “Twenty-Second Chocolate Cake” by Mark Matsumoto

JUST A DASH

In a family that loves tomato pie, E.E. found a shortcut – the tomato pie without a crust.

“Cut big summer tomatoes thick and place them on parchment or foil in a baking pan. Top tomato slices with a sprinkling of salt and generous slivers of fresh basil. In a small bowl, mix together equal parts of sour cream and mayonnaise and spread over top of tomatoes. Don’t overwhelm them. Sprinkle tops generously with your favorite cheese. Bake 15 minutes at 350 or broil and watch carefully. Just make sure tops are beginning to brown. Lift carefully onto dinner plates.”

Tell us your favorite shortcut, please. And come back next week.