#okraleaf

A major highlight to this weekend (there were many) was finally meeting Youssef (@youssefscorner) and his mother Mony, and learning from them how to prepare Egyptian Molokhia. I would seriously eat it everyday - it was so good. It is a soup of the Molokhia greens, "chopped for 10 hours" (really maybe 30 minutes - minced very fine). It also includes a paste of garlic, cumin, and coriander, as well as sautéed onions and a vegetable broth with added allspice, bay leaves, cardamom, and petrified lemon. These photos go back in time to me standing with the plants in my hoop house. Mony was so warm and generous and gave us seeds for her Egyptian strain of Molokhia, which were given to her by her mother. I can't wait to grow them next year! #molokhia #jute #okraleaf #egyptianspinach #jewsmallow #mulukhiya #corchorusolitorius #molokheya #molokhiasoup #seedkeeping (at Fox Haven Farm & Retreat Center)

That giant Molokhia I posted yesterday grew from seeds I planted in March, and now at their massive bases they have formed seed pods ripe with the next generation of blue-green angular seeds. In past years the plants have stayed shorter than me and their seed pods have not ripened before frost. The hoop house experiment was a success! My friend Mason from Bear Bottom Farm in Dillwyn, Virginia will be offering Molokhia seeds he grew (originally from his Syrian grandfather) in the Seed Keeping catalog this Fall! #molokhia #mulukhiyah #jute #juterug #egyptianspinach #okraleaf #jewsmallow #seedkeeping #bearbottomfarm (at Dillwyn, Virginia)

Here's the Molokhia again from a better angle, thanks to Drew of @roughwoodseeds. See my selfie from a few days ago for more information on this "Okra Leaf" that is widely eaten in Africa and the Middle East. #molokhia #jute #jewsmallow #egyptianspinach #okraleaf (at Delaware County, Pennsylvania)