Okra is at its peak of the season, so now is the time to enjoy the tender green pods of flavor and stock up the freezer in anticipation of the long winter months ahead.

The long green slender pods picked fresh from the fields reigns supreme in the South, but each okra connoisseur has his or her own version of the best way to prepare the Southern favorite.

The beloved vegetable is no longer just the heart and soul of a gumbo or the traditional addition to Sunday’s dinner along the side of a hearty roast. Southern cooks are getting creative with the vegetable to give a whole new twist to basic dishes.

Innovative cooks are finding the old-time favorite deep-fried okra is far more than a side accompaniment or appetizer to a meal. It’s not uncommon to find golden brown fried okra used as a crouton and sprinkled over a fresh lettuce and tomato salad or topped over a bowl of tomato soup or corn and shrimp bisque for added crunch.

Fried okra tossed in a warm tortillas with tomato salsa and a mixture of greens, can give tacos a whole new taste.

Put together grilled okra with ripe tomatoes from the garden, corn salsa, grilled shrimp and a healthy helping of salad greens for a summer salad served as a meal.

As an alternative to jalapeño stuffed cheese peppers, remove the seeds from fresh okra pods, fill with pepper jack or cheddar cheese sticks and deep fat fry in a corn meal and flour coating.

“It’s just a matter of taste on how it is prepared,” said Anthony James, who is more commonly known as the “okra man” in parts of Iberia and St. Mary parishes.

James is an okra connoisseur in his own right. He not only grows, picks and cooks the popular vegetable, but shares a few tips along the way on its preparation with his paying and non-paying customers.

The 55- year-old gardener maintains almost 100 rows of okra and various seasonal vegetables in three different locations on the outskirts of Jeanerette — all part of his “vegetable ministry” he has maintained for the past 14 years.

A resident of Franklin, James barters some of his fresh vegetables for the use of small portions of land owned by some of the area sugar cane farmers.

“I pick a lot of okra and sell some, but there is a lot of giving too. I work for the Lord. That’s why I call it my vegetable ministry,” said James.

“I never turn anyone down if they can’t afford to pay for it. I believe in helping the elderly and the less fortunate.”

James said he always tells his customers to test for tenderness by gently pressing on the pods. Tender pods bend easily and tough pods are stiff and resistant.

“Okra should have a soft texture and compress when it is touched. If it doesn’t bend, it is going to be hard and crunchy after it is cooked. When it gets too hard, it is only good for seeds to use in planting,” he said.

Before cutting, James said the okra should be washed and dried thoroughly.

While some people tend to shy away from the tender green pods because of the slime it is notorious produces during cooking, James said there is a technique to reduce the slime. He recommends adding a cap or two of plain white vinegar, depending on the amount of okra.

“The vinegar will dry out the slime in the first 20 to 30 minutes of cooking. Much of it depends on the variety. Clemson okra will produce more slime than the longhorn variety,” he said.

Although okra is becoming more versatile in food dishes, James said it’s hard to beat an old-fashioned gumbo made with okra and a variety of meat or seafood or a dish of smothered okra with smoked sausage and chicken drumettes or turkey wings.

“Just about anything you add to okra will only enhance the flavor and give the okra a unique taste. I like to add a few fresh sliced carrots to smothered okra,” he said.

James prefers to use fresh vegetables as seasoning and will add a red bell pepper, yellow sweet pepper and a white and red onion to smothered okra for added flavor.

“You can cook it on top of the stove or in the oven but it’s got to be in a cast iron pot or Magnalite pot. The key to smothering okra is to cook it slow on low fire. If you’re going to cook it on top of the stove it has to be stirred frequently, but in the oven you can can cover it and pretty much forget about it,” said James.