Previous
Take the Benefits of Okra to Heart
September 12, 2007
Take the Benefits of Okra to Heart
Socorro grower helped found Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust
Farmers' Markets DENISE MILLER For the Journal
If you like okra, you should make a point of meeting Cecilia McCord. The Socorro grower, who also sells her produce at the Downtown Albuquerque Growers' Market, is a longtime friend to okra fans, who know they can count on her for the most tender, savory okra around.
It's the season to stock up on this interesting little vegetable famous for its sticky role in gumbos and stews. Common varieties include Louisiana Green, Red Velvet or McCord's hybrid of Clemson and Louisiana Green, which is long and fat rather than the more common long and slender look.
There's more to okra than you might think. "Some customers brush it with oil and grill it," says McCord. "Others eat it raw like an apple, but my favorite way is pickled, just with a conventional dill pickle recipe."
McCord also recommends freezing okra. While she throws it in plastic bags trimmed or as is, others recommend blanching first. Either way, when a cold winter day beckons a hearty stew, you'll appreciate having okra on hand.
For more than 10 years, McCord has brought okra to the Downtown Albuquerque Growers' Market from her Polvadera farm, just outside Socorro.
Her picturesque, flowerbordered homestead is 40 acres -- 38 used for organic, grass-fed beef and two devoted to a wide selection of certified organic produce, most of which tend toward heirloom varieties.
Consider the beans: Chinese Yard Long, Rattlesnake or Dragon Tongue, to name a few. How about a giant, 1{-pound Aconcagua pepper that looks like a gnarly, overgrown chile?
Or, maybe you prefer a cucuzza, a long edible gourd, or a Mortgage Lifter, Boxcar Willie or Zapotec tomato?
McCord favors heirlooms because she thinks they taste better and are more exciting. Also, she can save the seeds rather than buy expensive hybrid seeds.
"Customers come looking for something new and unique, and they like that I can teach them about vegetables," she says.
It all comes down to taste, though, and her desire to grow sumptuous food for her family. "If it's not delicious, I don't grow it," she says.
Family values
McCord's husband, Jim, and her sons, Augustin, 17, and Carlos, 15, are part of the farming operation. Jim helps prepare the fields while the boys -- along with many of McCord's 24 nieces and nephews -- often help with hoeing, planting and harvesting throughout the summer.
McCord grew up on a farm near Santa Cruz, N.M., then studied biology and worked as a chemist. Fortunately, McCord's love of cooking and eating drove her back to farming.
McCord says the most difficult part of being a smallscale farmer is the ability to pull it off every day. "But," she says, "there's something about feeding people. How much better can it get?"
Preserving land
In addition to serving her market customers as well as about a half-dozen restaurants, McCord also works in land conservation, seeking to preserve New Mexico farms and ranches.
About 10 years ago, a handful of farmers met in her kitchen and started the Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust. The group educates landowners about the benefits of using conservation easements as a method to preserve land for farming and ranching for future generations.
"It's important to preserve land that is under intense development pressure because it threatens our cultural heritage and ability to grow food," McCord says.
The group's annual fundraising harvest dinner is 4 p.m. Sept. 23 at Los Poblanos Inn & Cultural Center in Albuquerque. Local chefs will donate time, and all of the meat and produce to be served is from the middle Rio Grande area. For reservations or information call Jan at 232-0623.
FEATURED GROWER
WHO: Cecilia McCord
WHERE TO FIND HER: Okra
NUTRITIONAL VALUE: Okra is packed with nutrients, almost half from soluble fiber (gums and pectins), which helps to lower serum cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease. Okra also has a lot of insoluble fiber, which helps keep the intestinal tract healthy, decreasing the risk of some forms of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. Nearly 10 percent of the recommended levels of vitamin B6 and folic acid are also present in a 1/2 cup of cooked okra.
SEASON: Mid-August until frost
