Friday, April 26, 2024
In his 50 professional years, Tumbleweed has interviewed some true Texas characters and assembled the largest private collection of oral history in the United States. He writes a syndicated weekly newspaper column and teaches broadcasting at the university level.
Gumbo is not the only use for okra, a vegetable brought to the U.S. by slaves in the 1660s. Dallas has an event called Okrapalooza every year about the time okra is harvested. Elizabeth Dry turned a trashy vacant lot into a community garden 12 years ago and named it The Promise of Peace Garden. To raise money for the rent on the property she went to her computer and googled okra festivals in Texas.
“And there were none,” Elizabeth said. “So, I started one. The first year there were just three chefs who prepared okra dishes on picnic tables and attendees paid $5 to come in.”
The fund-raising event has grown considerably and now attracts hundreds of people. It is an upscale event with an admission charge of $85. Guests get to sample gourmet okra dishes and custom-made wines and beers while listening to live music. They also get to hear about okra recipes and ways to eat healthy.
“We have several musical groups that play 45-minute sets. During that time guests will be tasting the okra dishes, going from chef’s table to chef’s table and they learn about stuff. There are two prizes. One is a people’s choice award and the other is a choice of six judges. The winner will be judged on presentation, complexity, flavor and all that.”
This year’s event was at the Cotton Mill in McKinney. Twelve chefs were on hand producing everything from pickled okra seeds to okra ice cream.
“We’ve got a very diverse group of cooks. There’s personal chefs, there’s chefs from four-star restaurants, there’s chefs that actually farm their own food.”
Elizabeth said there are no big corporate sponsors. This is for the community.
“The chefs love it. It’s one of the most down to earth, fun, love-filled events I’ve ever been to. And these chefs create masterpieces that have never been replicated. People told me that I need to ask the chefs what they’ll be cooking so nobody will be cooking the same thing. Well, they never have in 12 years. And we’ve had an average of 15 chefs per festival since it started. And that’s a lot of different dishes.”
This year because of COVID the number of guests was limited to 150. Everyone seemed to like the Cotton Mill and it will probably take place there next year.
“We received so many compliments from guests, chefs, musicians and nearly everyone was pleased with the winners. The judges’ favorite was Olivia Lopez who is cultivating heirloom red, yellow, and blue corn from Mexico to preserve her culture. For Okrapalooza she did an okra enchilada that was unbelievable. She used two different colors of corn, blue and red. The people’s choice award went to Adam West, who owns Local Yokel Restaurant in McKinney. He did a churro that was incredible. He folded okra into the flour and somehow made it sweet with a dipping sauce.”
Winners get to forage once a month for three months on Elizabeth’s farm.
